Desquamated Epithelial Cells of Unstimulated Human Whole Saliva Express Both EGF Transcript and Protein

Figure 5

DOECs express the EGF gene as shown by qPCR analysis. (a–e) EGF transcript is detected in DOECs isolated from all 4 volunteers included in the study by qPCR analysis. DOECs have higher Ct values for the EGF (a), the GAPDH (b), and the 18S (c) genes compared to HaCaT cells. Note that a high Ct value represents low gene activity and vice versa. Calculation of EGF gene expression by the delta-delta Ct method and the Pfaffl equation with, respectively, GAPDH and 18S as reference genes shows that relative EGF gene expression is higher in DOECs than in HaCaT cells (d, e). Each sample was analyzed in duplicate. DOECs were isolated from all 4 individuals included in the study. Values are presented as means ± SEM for three experiments. Statistical significance was calculated by Student’s two-tailed t test for single comparisons between the two groups (DOECs vs. HaCaT cells) as appropriate. represents , and represents .

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