Figure 3

Overexpression of Grp78 promotes the spreading and cell polarity formation of hepatocellular carcinoma cells. (A), SMMC7721 cells that stably transfected with Grp78 or mock transfected were allowed to spread on Fibronectin (10 μg/ml) pre-coated surface for 2 hours. The extent of cell spreading was photographed under phase-contrast microscopy at 1 hour and 2 hours. This experiment was repeated for three times in triplicate. (Scale bar = 20 μm) (B), Overexpression of Grp78 in SMMC7721 cells promoted cell spreading which is represented as the mean area of cells (pixels). (C), Overexpression of Grp78 in SMMC7721 cells promotes cell polarity formation which is depicted as the ratio of long axis and short axis. (D) SMMC7721 cells that stably transfected with Grp78 form obvious thin, transparent lamellipodia at the wound edge compared with mock-transfected cells.