Fig. 5

Effects of downregulation of HPV18 E6 and E7 on proliferation of EC109, EC9706 and Tca83 cells. a. The cells were transfected with siRNA against control (siCtrl) or against HPV18 E6 and E7 (siE6/E7). After 72 h, cells were fixed and stained with Ki67 (green) and p53 (red). Samples were counterstained with 4′,6-diamidino-2-phenylindole (DAPI) and mounted using ProLong™ Gold Anti-fade. HeLa and HKESC01 cells were included as positive and negative controls, respectively. Images were taken using a fluorescence microscope (Leica) at 1000X. b. Images at 400X were obtained from at least 3 independent views per experiment. Cells stained for DAPI, Ki67 and p53 were counted using ImageJ software. Percentage of cells positive for (i) Ki67 and (ii) p53 in siE6/E7 samples were calculated in relative to control (siCtrl). Error bars represent mean ± standard error of mean (SEM) (n = 3). (*P < 0.05, **P < 0.01, ***P < 0.001)