Fig 2: MORC2 overexpression mitigates the effects of NDRG1 upregulation on the EMT process of glioma. (A) E-cad, N-cad, Vimentin and Slug expression was determined by western blotting. (B and C) E-cad and N-cad expression was detected by immunofluorescence staining. Scale bar, 50 µm. ***P<0.001 vs. pc-NC; #P<0.05, ##P<0.01 and ###P<0.001 vs. pc-NDRG1. MORC2, Microrchidia family CW-type zinc finger 2; E-cad, E-cadherin; N-cad, N-cadherin; NC, negative control; EMT, epithelial-mesenchymal transition; pc-NC, empty vector; pc-MORC2, overexpression plasmid of MORC2; pc-NDRG1, overexpression plasmid of NRDG1; CDK2, cyclin-dependent kinase 2; PCNA, proliferating cell nuclear antigen; control, untransfected U251 cells.

Fig 3: MORC2-knockdown suppresses the EMT process of U251 cells. (A) E-cad, N-cad, Vimentin and Slug expression was determined by western blotting. (B and C) E-cad and N-cad expression was detected by immunofluorescence staining. Scale bar, 50 µm. *P<0.05 and ***P<0.001 vs. shRNA-NC. Sh, short hairpin; MORC2, Microrchidia family CW-type zinc finger 2; E-cad, E-cadherin; N-cad, N-cadherin; NC, negative control; EMT, epithelial-mesenchymal transition; control, untransfected U251 cells.

Fig 4: MORC2 overexpression alleviates the inhibitory effects of NDRG1upregulation on the migration and EMT process of glioma in U251 tumor-bearing mice. (A) MMP2 and MMP9 expression was tested by western blotting. (B) E-cad and N-cad expression in tumorous tissue in U251 tumor-bearing mice was evaluated using immunohistochemistry analysis. (C) Western blot analysis was performed for the evaluation of E-cad, N-cad, Vimentin and Slug expression. ***P<0.001 vs. pc-NC; #P<0.05, ##P<0.01 and ###P<0.001 vs. pc-NDRG1. MORC2, Microrchidia family CW-type zinc finger 2; E-cad, E-cadherin; N-cad, N-cadherin; NC, negative control; EMT, epithelial-mesenchymal transition; pc-NC, empty vector; pc-MORC2, overexpression plasmid of MORC2; pc-NDRG1, overexpression plasmid of NRDG1; MMP, matrix metalloproteinase.

Fig 5: Immunohistochemical staining of proteins elevated in cardiac muscle. a Examples of eight proteins related to muscle contraction (MYH6, MYL4, MYL7, ACTC1, TNNI3, TNNT2, MYBPC3 and CACNA1C). CACNA1C was distinctly stained in sarcolemma and endothelial cells. b Examples of four proteins related to homeostasis and regeneration/repair, with NPPA displaying granular cytoplasmic expression, AKAP6 observed in nuclear membranes of cardiomyocytes, NES restricted to endothelial cells and BVES distinctly stained in sarcolemma. c Examples of eight proteins specific for intercalated discs (ATP1A3, CDH2, MYZAP, PKP2, ART3, FILIP1, POPDC2 and RAB9B). d Examples of two proteins with unknown function in cardiac muscle (SBK2 and SHD)