Fig. 3

The identification of shRNA interference efficiency. WSU-HN6 and CAL27 cells were transfected with shNLRP3 or mock vectors. Control cells received no transfection. a Total mRNA was obtained 12 h after transfection. The mRNA expression level of NLRP3 was determined by real-time PCR analysis. b Total proteins were obtained 7 days after transfection as described in methods. Expression levels of NLRP3, cleaved caspase-1 and IL-1β were determined by western blot. c The expression ratio of the proteins was quantified against β-actin. Results are representative of three experiments. (*P < 0.05, **P < 0.01, ***P < 0.001)