Fig. 6: CircUBE2Q2 sponges miR-370-3p to inhibit autophagy and promote glycolysis.

A The number of autophagosomes observed in MKN-45 cell lines cotransfected with circUBE2Q2-specific siRNA or STAT3 plamids using transmission electron microscopy (TEM). B The role of circUBE2Q2/STAT3 on autophagy using anti-LC3 via IF in MKN-45 cells, scale bar = 20 μm. C Gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) identified a significant positive correlation between STAT3 and the glycolysis pathway. D–F Lactate production, glucose uptake, and ATP production detected in GC cells. G, H Extracellular acidification rate (ECAR) measured in treated MKN-45 cells. I Protein levels of STAT3, p-STAT3, Bcl-2, p62, LC3B, PFK, and HK2 in treated MKN-45 and BGC-823 cell lines detected by western blottings. Data are expressed as the mean ± SD. *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001.