Fig. 5.

Effect of SQ1 and pravastatin on the mRNA expression of cholesterol biosynthetic enzymes in primary cultured mouse (A) and rat (B) hepatocytes using qRT-PCR. Primary mouse (A) and rat (B) hepatocytes were freshly isolated, plated onto six-well plates, and 48 hours later were treated with Williams’ E medium either alone (control, CON) or containing SQ1 (0.1 μM) or Prav (30 μM). The medium was replaced once after 24 hours, and 48 hours after the initial treatment, cDNA was synthesized from total RNA as described in Material and Methods. Relative changes in mRNA expression levels were quantified using qRT-PCR. Each bar represents the normalized values (mean ± S.E.M.) from five to six hepatocyte preparations (two combined wells/treatment group/preparation). *Statistically significant compared with untreated (CON) hepatocytes (P < 0.05). ^δStatistically significant compared with pravastatin-treated hepatocytes (P < 0.05).