Fig. 4.

VDR knockdown decreased DNA repair-related gene expression in uterine smooth muscle cells (UTSMs). a Real-time PCR analysis of the mRNA level of DNA DSB sensors (RAD50, NBS1, MRE11), mediators and effectors (CHECK1, CHECK2, BRCA1), DSB binding (BRCA2, RAD51), cell cycle checkpoint control (RAD17) and mismatch repair (MSH2, EXO1) were measured in VDR-specific shRNA (VDR KD) cells compared with the scrambled control (VDR Scr). The mRNA levels were normalized to 18 S RNA and normalized values used to generate the graph. Data are presented as the mean ± SEM of triplicate measurement. *P < 0.05, ***P < 0.001. All experiments were repeated twice. b The Prime PCR DNA damage gene expression array was used to identify additional genes which show differential expression between VDR-specific shRNA (VDR KD) cells and scrambled control cells (VDR Scr). VDR knockdown resulted in the downregulation of 75 DNA repair-related genes, including 11 genes in previous qRT-PCR, while 10 were upregulated