Fig. 5.

CD44 and αvβ3 were required in promoting SCs proliferation and inhibiting apoptosis. a, b Real-time qPCR and Western blot detected the efficiency of CD44-siRNA (si-CD44) or β3-siRNA (si-β3) in SCs. c Flow cytometry determined the apoptosis rate of SCs. The representative images (left) and quantification data (right) were shown. d EdU staining tested the proliferation rate of SCs transfection with si-CD44 or si-β3. Shown are representative images (left) and quantification data (right). Scale bar, 100 μm. e–g Western blot analysis of PKCα, p-ERK, ERK, Bcl-2, Bax, cleaved Caspase-3, and Caspase-3 expression (GAPDH serves as loading control) after si-CD44 or si-β3 transfection in SCs. Representative blot (e) and quantification of the relative expression of proteins (f, g) were shown, respectively. Data are obtained from three independent experiments and presented as mean ± SEM. *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01, ***P < 0.001