Extended Data Fig. 6: RT-qPCR validation of gene expression compared to RNA-seq.

Normalized gene expression on different DECIPHER samples (SoftY, StiffY, SoftA, StiffA). Fold changes in RT-qPCR results (b, d, f, h, j, l, n, p) were calculated using 2−ΔΔCt method and compared side-by-side with RNA-seq results (a, c, e, g, i, k, m, o). N = 3 biological replicates for each condition, except Young CF+SoftY group in RNA-seq (N = 2). Data are mean \(\pm \,\)SEM (a-p). One-way ANOVA with Fisher’s preplanned multiple comparison (each pair with one variable, ECM or stiffness, a-p).