Figure 1.
Confirmation of syncytin-1 knockdown by siRNA in BeWo cells. (A) BeWo cells were transfected with 50 nM (final concentration) of syncytin-1 specific siRNA (SsiRNA1) or control siRNA (Ctl siRNA). At various post-transfection time points, syncytin-1 mRNA levels were measured with real-time PCR. At the 40, 48, 56, 64, and 72 hours post-transfection time points, syncytin-1 mRNA levels were significantly decreased in cells transfected with SsiRNA1 in comparison to the corresponding controls (**, p < 0.01). (B) Western blot analysis was performed at different post-transfection time points. As protein loading controls, β-actin protein was accessed in the same blot. Decreased syncytin-1 protein levels were observed in cells transfected with SsiRNA1 (marked as “K”) at 40, 48, 56, 64, and 72 hours when compared with correspondent controls transfected with non-specific siRNA (marked as “C”). (C) The Western Blot results were scanned and densitometry analysis was performed. Significant quantitative reduction of syncytin-1 protein was confirmed for 40, 48, 56, 64, and 72 hour time points (*, p < 0.05; **, p < 0.01).