Figure 3.

siRNA-mediated knockdown of genes in the multiorgan postnatal program suppresses proliferation in primary murine hepatocytes. A) Residual target mRNA levels after transfection of siRNA for 8 different age-down-regulated genes and a housekeeping gene (Gapdh) into cultured hepatocytes isolated from E15 fetal mice. Two different siRNAs were used for each target gene. mRNA was measured by real-time PCR and normalized to results from control siRNA. B) Proliferation of hepatocytes was assessed by ³H-thymidine uptake 2 d after transfection and normalized to results from control siRNA. At least 3 experiments were performed for each siRNA. Each experiment used hepatocytes from a different litter and was analyzed in triplicate cell culture wells. Values are means ± se. NS, not significant. *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01; ANOVA.