Fig. 1

YY1 is upregulated in HCC and facilitates HCC tumor growth. a YY1 expression in five HCC cell lines and one human liver epithelium cell line (THLE-3) was detected by qRT-PCR. b HepG2 and MHCC97H cells that separately transfected with sh-NC or sh-YY1#1/2 were analyzed by qRT-PCR for YY1 expression. c–e The proliferation was assessed by CCK-8, colony formation and EdU assays in sh-YY1#1 transfected HepG2 and MHCC97H cells. f Caspase-3 activity in YY1-downregulated HCC cells was measured. g Apoptosis- and cell cycle-related proteins were detected in HCC cells transfected with sh-NC or sh-YY1#1 by western blot analysis. h Cell cycle distribution was assessed by flow cytometry analysis in HCC cells after YY1 silence. i, j The growth curve and weight of tumors removed from the mice injected with sh-NC or sh-YY1#1 transfected MHCC97H cells were tested. k IHC assay measured the Ki67 staining in tumors from indicated groups. **P < 0.01