Figure 7.
Knockdown of StarD7 impaired myogenic differentiation in human primary myoblasts. (a) After transfection with siRNAs against StarD7 (KD) or control siRNA, human primary myoblasts were cultured in differentiation medium for 3 days, then immunostained with anti-MYH6 antibody (green). Nuclei were stained with DAPI (blue). Bars indicate 100 μm. (b) The fusion indexes were calculated, and are presented as the means ± S.D. ***P < 0.001 as compared with control siRNA (Student’s t test). (c) After inducing differentiation, protein levels of MYH4, MYH6, myogenin and StarD7 were analyzed by western blotting. GAPDH was used as a protein loading control. (d) The mRNA levels of myogenin, myomaker, myomerger and PGC-1α were quantified by qPCR after inducing differentiation. Data were normalized to the GAPDH level. Values shown are means ± S.D. from three independent culture dishes. ***P < 0.001 as compared with control siRNA (Student’s t test).