Autocrine effects of HDGF on HMCLs. (A) HDGF induces AKT phosphorylation in ALMC-1, ALMC-2, ANBL-6, and KAS-6/1 cells. Serum-starved cells were stimulated with IL-6 as a positive control and 50 ng/mL or 500 ng/mL HDGF for 1 hour. Top panels show the phosphorylation of AKT upon stimulation with HDGF; bottom panels show total AKT levels in each lane. siRNA knockdown of ALMC-1 (B,D) and ANBL-6 (C,E) results in reduced HDGF expression (B,C) and impaired proliferation (D,E). Results shown are representative of triplicate determinations. ***P < .001. Means ± SD are shown.