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. 2012 Jul 17;7(7):e41132. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0041132

Figure 2. Gene expression and activity of sialidases in Neu3-deficient mice.

Figure 2

A. Relative mRNA levels of sialidases in the brain (left panels) or colon mucosa (right panels) of wild-type (W, gray bars) or Neu3-deficient (KO, filled bars) mice. RNA preparation, reverse transcription, and quantitative PCR were performed as described in Materials and Methods. For quantification, a standard curve for each target gene was generated by serial dilution of the plasmid DNA containing the ORF of the respective gene. Results are averages obtained from three mice of each genotype. The RNA level of each sialidase was normalized to that of G3pdh and expressed in arbitrary units. n.d.: not detected. B. Relative sialidase activity of the brain (left panels) or colon mucosa (right panels) of wild-type (W, gray bars) or Neu3-deficient (KO, filled bars) mice. Crude enzyme was prepared and assayed as described in Materials and Methods. Enzyme assays using GM3 (upper panels) or 4MU-NeuAc (lower panels) as the substrate are shown. Results are averages obtained from three mice of each genotype. Activity is expressed in units/mg protein. One unit was defined as the amount of enzyme that cleaved 1 nmol of sialic acid per hour.