Fig. 1.

Identification of the EGF family of growth factors in the conjunctiva and cultured goblet cells by RT-PCR. Rat conjunctiva (C) and cultured goblet cells (GC) from primary culture were homogenized and the RNA isolated. RT-PCR was performed using primers specific for EGF, TGF-α, HB-EGF, and heregulin. RNA from rat brain (B) and lacrimal gland (L) was also isolated and serve as positive controls. The negative control (NC) indicates RT-PCR performed in the absence of cDNA. Each GC lane is the RT-PCR reaction from a single animal.