Figure 1.
UGCG knockdown and rescue assay. (A) UGCG catalyzes the glycosylation step, transforming ceramide to cerebroside. Cerebroside is then used to synthesize gangliosides, such as GM1, GD1b and GT1b. Sialic acids are α2–3 linked unless labeled otherwise. (B) Normalized expression of UGCG mRNA (mean SEM). RPTE cells were transfected with non-targeting siRNAs or siRNAs targeting UGCG. Total RNA was collected, and reverse transcription and quantitative PCR were performed. UGCG mRNA expression was normalized to GAPDH mRNA. (C) RPTE cells were transfected with non-targeting siRNAs or siRNAs targeting UGCG. Gangliosides were added at 38 hours post transfection. At 48 hours post transfection, cells were infected with BKPyV at an MOI of 0.5 IU/cell. Western blotting was performed on protein samples harvested at 48 hours post infection.
