Fig. 3

Effects of downregulation of HPV18 E6 and E7 on AKT, ERK1/2, MMP2 and MMP9 activity in EC109, EC9706 and Tca83 cells. These cells were transfected with siRNA against control (−) or against HPV18 E6 and E7 (+). After 72 h, total lysate was collected and the levels of E6 and E7 target proteins were analyzed by Western blotting for the proteins as indicated. HeLa and HKESC01 cells were included as positive and negative controls, respectively. a. Representative immunoblots showing levels of AKT phosphorylated at S437 [pAKT(S437)], pan-AKT, ERK1/2 phosphorylated at T202 and Y204 [pERK1/2(T202/Y204)], MMP2 and MMP9. β-actin was included as a loading control. b. Bar graphs show quantitation of the levels of target proteins against control in (i) HeLa (blue-colored bars), (ii) EC109 (magenta-colored bars), (iii) EC9706 (magenta-colored bars), (iv) Tca83 (blue-colored bars) and (v) HKESC01 (black-colored bars) cells. Quantitation was performed using ImageJ software and statistical analysis was performed using Prism. Error bars represent mean ± standard deviation (SD) (n = 4). (*P < 0.05, **P < 0.01, ***P < 0.001)