Fig. 2

Verification of the in vitro and in vivo activity of the identified compounds. a Relative expression of SOAT1 in different liver cancer cell lines (n = 3). b Dose–response curves of hepatocelluar carcinoma cell lines to nilotinib treatment compared with the positive control (nevanimibe), with an endpoint measurement at 48 h (n = 3). c, d Colony formation assay in Hep3B and HepG2 cells. The area of the colony was analyzed using the ImageJ software and plotted using GraphPad Prism 8.21 (n = 3). Graphs show mean ± SD. e Images of the tumor volume in mice treated with the nilotinib, sorafenib, and control for 28 days. The positive control is sorafenib and was compared with placebo controls. f Tumor growth curve of tumor xenograft mice treated with nilotinib (20 mg/kg/day), sorafenib (20 mg/kg/day), and controls on the indicated days (n = 6 mice per group). The circle, triangle, and box denote the average volume of tumors (± SEM). P values were calculated by the two-sided log-rank test. g Immunohistochemical staining of SOAT1 in tumors after nilotinib, sorafenib, and control (scale bar = 50 μm)