Figure 3.

Effect of IQGAP1 on the expression of VSMC-specific contractile protein. To investigate the function of IQGAP1 on the levels of VSMC-specific genes, cells were transfected with recombinant pcDNA3.1 (+)-IQGAP1 vectors. The corresponding transfection effect was evaluated by western blotting (A). The effect of IQGAP1 overexpression on SMC-specific marker (SMA, SM and CNN) expression levels of mRNA (B) and protein (C) was validated by RT-PCR and western blotting. Additionally, the IQGAP1 shRNA was also introduced to analyze the above results. The silencing effect on IQGAP1 protein levels were demonstrated (D). The function of IQGAP1down-regulation in the mRNA levels (E) and protein levels (F) of SMA, SM and CNN was also assessed. *P < 0.05.