Figure 3

Knockdown of cofilin inhibits cell-mediated collagen gel contraction, both in presence or absence of PDGF-BB. (A,B) Detected and quantified protein level of cofilin (72 h after transfection) in BJ fibroblasts without any treatment (control), after transfection with siRNA against cofilin (cofilin K.D.), or treatment with control siRNA. Tubulin protein level was also detected as an internal control. (C) 72 h after transfection of BJ fibroblasts with cofilin siRNA, the ability of the cells to contract gels in presence or absence of PDGF-BB was investigated. In all panels the presented data is from at least three independent experiments each performed in triplicate. Error bars are SEM and (***) refers to p < 0.001. The hashed line in panel A shows where the blot was cut to take away other transfection conditions (day 1, 2, and 4) from the same blot. The full-length blot is presented in the supplementary data.