Fig. 1

STARD13-correlated ceRNA network inhibits tumor sphere formation capacity of breast cancer in vitro. a, b Detection of STARD13, CDH5, HOXD1, and HOXD10 expressions in sorted CD44+/CD24− cell subpopulation (a) and mammospheres (b) of MCF-7 cells enriched in 3D semi-solid culture medium by qRT-PCR analysis. (c) Phase contract images of mammospheres formed by MDA-MB-231 derivatives (MDA-MB-231 stably overexpressing with STARD13 3′UTR, CDH5 3′UTR, HOXD1 3′UTR, and HOXD10 3′UTR, and their negative control, hereafter indicated as pLVX-STARD13-3′UTR, pLVX-CDH5-3′UTR, pLVX-HOXD1-3′UTR, pLVX-HOXD10-3′UTR, and pLVX-Ctrl, respectively). d Quantification of mammospheres in c. e Representative FACS profile of MDA-MB-231 derivatives described in c with CD24− and CD44+ markers. f, g Examination of stemness-related genes expression (ALDA1, OCT4, and Nanog) by qRT-PCR (f) and Western blot analysis (g) in cells described in c. Data were presented as the mean ± SD, n = 3, *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001 vs. vector or control