Fig 2: Pristimerin ameliorates neuronal cell apoptosis in brain tissue homogenates of mice with sepsis-induced brain injuries. (A) Effects of pristimerin on expression levels of Bax, Bcl-2 and caspase-3, as revealed by Western blotting. (B) Effect of pristimerin on the apoptosis index, as revealed by the TUNEL assay. TUNEL: terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick end-labelling. Means ± SEMs (n = 10); ##p < 0.01 compared with positive controls; **p < 0.01 compared with negative controls.

Fig 3: SOX6 is a downstream effector of miR-1290. (a) qRT-PCR showing the miR-1290 downregulation efficacy of miR-1290 inhibitor transfection. (b) Representative immunoblotting analysis revealing the transfection efficiency of si-SOX6 in suppressing SOX6. (c–j) ECA109 and KYSE450 cells were transiently introduced with si-SOX6 + miR-1290 inhibitor, si-con+miR-1290 inhibitor, miR-1290 inhibitor or inhibitor NC. (c) Representative immunoblotting analysis showing SOX6 protein level in transfected ECA109 and KYSE450 cells. (d) Proliferation analysis by CCK-8 assay with transfected ECA109 and KYSE450 cells. (e) Proliferation analysis by EDU assay with transfected ECA109 and KYSE450 cells. (f) Apoptosis assessment by flow cytometry with transfected ECA109 and KYSE450 cells. (g) Representative immunoblotting analysis showing Bax and Bcl-2 levels in transfected ECA109 and KYSE450 cells. (h and i) Representative migration (h) and invasion (i) analyses by transwell assay with transfected ECA109 and KYSE450 cells. (j) Migration evaluation by wound-healing assay with transfected ECA109 and KYSE450 cells. *p < 0.05

Fig 4: Circ_0001946 expression affects cell proliferation, invasion, migration and apoptosis in vitro. (a–h) ECA109 and KYSE450 cells were introduced with vector control or a recombinant plasmid expressing circ_0001946 (oe-circ_0001946). (a) qRT-PCR validating the circ_0001946 upregulation efficacy of oe-circ_0001946 transfection in ECA109 and KYSE450 cells. (b) CCK-8 assay with transfected ECA109 and KYSE450 cells to assess cell proliferation. (c) Representative EDU assay showing cell proliferation ability performed in transfected ECA109 and KYSE450 cells. (d) Representative images showing a cell apoptosis assay and flow cytometry with transfected ECA109 and KYSE450 cells. (e) Representative immunoblotting analysis showing the levels of Bax and Bcl-2 in transfected ECA109 and KYSE450 cells. (f and g) Representative transwell assay presenting cell migration and invasion rates performed in transfected ECA109 and KYSE450 cells. (h) Representative pictures depicting a cell migration assay performed by wound-healing assay with transfected ECA109 and KYSE450 cells. *p < 0.05

Fig 5: Knockdown of CDC73 attenuates the inhibitory effect of oe-circ_0000629 on BC cells. T24 and SW780 cells were co-transfected with oe-circ_0000629 + shScr, oe-circ_0000629 + shCDC73-#1 or oe-circ_0000629 + shCDC73-#2. (A) mRNA expression of CDC73 in cells after co-transfection by RT-qPCR; (B) protein expression of CDC73 in cells after co-transfection by Western blot; (C) EdU staining for proliferative capacity of T24 and SW780 cells; (D) flow cytometric analysis of apoptotic T24 and SW780 cells; (E) expression of apoptosis-related proteins PUMA, Bax, and Bcl-2 in cells examined by Western blot; (F) the migration capacity of T24 and SW780 cells examined by Transwell assay; (G) the invasion capacity of T24 and SW780 cells examined by Transwell assay. Date are mean ± SD, n = 3. **p < 0.01 (two-way ANOVA and Tukey’s multiple comparison test).