EMT/MET model validation.

Panel A shows bright field microscopy still images of the EpH-4 cell line (400×) during EMT and MET induction. E stands for epithelial cells, M stands for mesenchymal cells, and RE stands for reverted epithelial cells. E and RE cells display a cuboid shape associated with the epithelial phenotype while M cells exhibit a fibroblastic morphology associated with the mesenchymal phenotype. Panel B illustrates the quantification of CDH1, Ocln, Vim and Zeb2 relative mRNA expression (n = 3 biological replicas). Data was normalized for results obtained for E cells. Single asterisk corresponds to p≤0.05 and double asterisks stands for p≤0.001. CDH1 expression, an epithelial marker, was not significantly altered during EMT/MET induction; Ocln expression, an epithelial marker, was significantly decreased in M cells (in comparison to E cells) and recovered in RE cells (in comparison to M cells); Vim expression, a mesenchymal marker, was significantly increased in M cells (in comparison to E cells) and decreased in RE cells (in comparison to M cells) and; Zeb2 expression, a classical EMT inducer, was significantly increased in M cells in comparison with E cells, supporting EMT occurrence.