Figure 4.

20-Epi-1,25(OH)₂D₃ exhibits an enhanced and sustained activity at selected target genes in the intestine in vivo. C57BL6 mice were treated with either 1,25(OH)₂D₃ or 20-epi-1,25(OH)₂D₃ (10 ng/g bw) and duodenum (A), kidney (B), or bone (C) harvested at the indicated time points and used to prepare RNA. RNA was reverse transcribed and then subjected to qPCR analysis. mRNA levels for each gene were normalized to β-actin expression. Each point represents the average ± se, n = 5. An unpaired t test was used to compare 1,25(OH)₂D₃ and 20-epi-1,25(OH)₂D₃ at each time point (*, P < 0.05). NU, Normalized units.