Integrin expression by primary culture mHSC. Total cellular RNA extracted from primary cultures of mHSC was subjected to reverse transcription, followed by PCR (A, B) or real-time PCR (C) to determine gene expression of the α5, αv, β1 or β3 intergin subunits. (A) RT-PCR for integrin α5 assessed on Day 1, Day 4 or Day 7. A DNA marker ladder and non-cDNA template (NTC) are also shown. (B) RT-PCR for integrin αv (lane 1), β1 (lane 3) or β3 (lane 5) and their non-cDNA template controls (lanes 2, 4 and 6 respectively). A DNA marker ladder is also shown. (C) Quantitative real-time PCR detection of integrins α5, αv, β1 or β3 on Days 1–7. Data are the means ± SD of triplicate determinations and are representative of three independent experiments. *p<0.05 vs Day 1.