Gene expression and proliferation assays of control HEK cells and HEK cells transfected with plasmid constructs pSCR and pS2-3. A, hTERT mRNA levels showing hTERT knock down in cells transfected with pS2-3 as compared to the untransfected HEK. GAPDH was used as a loading control. B, Increased transcription of p53 and p21 in cells transfected with pS2-3 as compared to the untransfected HEK cells. GAPDH was used as a loading control. C, The graph shows linear growth of controls HEK and pSCR, while pS2-3 shows a significantly slower growth rate. Y-axis error bars represent ± standard error of the mean (SEM). * denotes statistical significance (n = 3, p < 0.05).