Fig. 4

Effects of treatment with Huaier and 5-FU in single drug or combination on migratory and invasive abilities of Huh28 cells. a and b Representative image of wound healing assay of Huh28 cells at 0, 24 and 48 h after wound scratch when exposed to either single agent or combination treatment, The results of wound repair inhibition under different treatment conditions were compared. c and d Representative images of Transwell assay for migration using transwell chambers without Matrigel coating, Huh28 cells that had migrated through the filter after treatment with Huaier and 5-FU monotherapy or in combination for 48 h were calculated. e and f Representative images of Transwell assay for invasion using Transwell chambers with Matrigel coating, Huh28 cells that had penetrated through the filter after treatment with Huaier and 5-FU monotherapy or in combination for 48 h were calculated. g, h, i, j, k and l Western blot results of N-cadherin, Vimentin, MMP-2 and MMP-9 proteins expression after 48 h treatment with Huaier and 5-FU alone or in combination, and relative optical density of proteins were analyzed based on Image J. All results are expressed as mean ± SD of three independent experiments. ^*P < 0.05, ^**P < 0.01, ^***P < 0.001, compared with control group, while ^#P < 0.05, ^##P < 0.01, ^###P < 0.001, compared with combination group