Figure 3.

Ectopic expression of SGK1 mimics the effect of progesterone in breast cancer cells. A, Western blot analysis indicating expression of SGK1 and NDRG1 in T47D (PR-positive, left) and MDA-MB-231 cells (PR-negative, right) overexpressing SGK1. β-Actin was used as an internal loading control. Numbers on the blot indicate intensity ratio for SGK1 and NDRG1, normalized to respective β-actin levels. The analysis is representative of three independent experiments. B, cell migration of T47D (left) and MDA-MB-231 (right) cells overexpressing SGK1 was compared with untransfected parent cells in a wound scratch assay. The bar plots indicate percentage cellular migration of the cells, with a direct comparison between untransfected cells and cells overexpressing SGK1, and the analysis is representative of three independent experiments performed in triplicates. C, in cells overexpressing SGK1, cell invasion was studied in T47D (top) and MDA-MB-231 (bottom), and percentage cell invasion was compared with respective parent cells. Parent cells treated with progesterone were also used to compare the level of cell invasion upon SGK1 overexpression. The bar plot depicts percentage cell invasion, and the figure is representative of three independent experiments performed in triplicates. p value was calculated using Student's unpaired t test. **, p < 0.005; ***, p < 0.0005. Error bars indicate S.D. UNT, untransfected.