Fig. 6

Phosphorylation of TH is crucial for its inhibitory effects on the motility of HCC cells. A Flag-TH^WT, Flag-TH^S19A and Flag-TH^S40A were overexpressed in Huh7, MHCC97H, as well as PVTT cells, and the expression was detected by Western blotting. B, C Wound-healing assay was conducted to identify the impact of TH^WT, TH^S19A, and TH^S40A overexpression on the migration of Huh7 as well as MHCC97H cell lines (B). The migratory areas were measured and analyzed (C). *P < 0.05; **P < 0.01; ***P < 0.001; ****P < 0.0001. D, E Transwell invasion assays were performed to evaluate the impact of TH^WT, TH^S19A, and TH^S40A overexpression on the invasion of Huh7, MHCC97H, as well as PVTT cells. The number of invasive cells was subsequently counted and analyzed. ****P < 0.0001. F, G Metastatic Huh7 cells labeled with luciferase lentivirus (Huh7–Luci) and overexpressing TH^WT and TH^S40A was examined. The bioluminescence values were measured and analyzed 4 weeks after inject cells into the mice through the tail vein by intraperitoneal injection of D-fluorescein potassium. *P < 0.05. H Graphic abstract. TH inhibited development of HCC cells by interacting with Smad2 and suppressing TGFβ signaling activation