Figure 6.

Downregulation of gremlin reduced the expression of fibronectin and collagen IV in RPE cells under high-glucose conditions. The cells were transfected with siRNA for 24 h and then incubated in the presence of high glucose for an additional 24 h. Real-time PCR and an ELISA kit analysis showed that the silence of gremlin significantly downregulated the expression of (a, c) fibronectin and (b, d) collagen IV in RPE cells under high-glucose conditions. The present data represent the mean ± SD of three independent experiments. ^∗∗p < 0.01 versus 5.5 mM; ^#p < 0.05 versus 30 mM. GR represents gremlin; Con represents control.