Figure 7.
AURKA is necessary for Nkx6.1-mediated proliferation. Rat islets were treated with AdCMV-Nkx6.1 and either AdshControl or AdshAURKA for 96 h. (A) Treatment with AdshAURKA decreases AURKA mRNA level by 70%, (B) with a corresponding decrease in AURKA protein level. (C) Knock down of AURKA results in a 50% decrease in [3H-methyl]-thymidine incorporation. (D) Treatment of islets transduced with AdCMV-GFP, AdCMV-Nkx6.1 or AdCMV-AURKA with either vehicle control or the AURKA specific pharmacological inhibitor VX-680 resulted in a significant decrease in Nkx6.1 and AURKA mediated proliferation. Data represent the mean±SEM of 4 independent experiments. **P ≤ 0.01; ***P ≤ 0.001. P value represents the comparison between Nkx6.1- and GFP-treated islets.