Nonattached cells were removed by PBS washings for three times. Attached cells were analyzed by 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-5-(3-carboxymethoxyphenyl)-2-(4-sulfophenyl)-2H-tetrazolium

(MTS; Promega, Madison, WI) assay according to the user manual. The mean absorbance values for statistical analysis represent the average of three independent experiments. Western blot analysis learn more Whole-cell lysates of EC9706 cells were prepared by incubating cells in RIPA buffer (1% NP-40; 0.5% sodium deoxycholate; 0.1% SDS; 50 mM Tris-HCl [pH 7.5]) containing protease inhibitors. Cell lysates were centrifuged at 10,000 g for 10 minutes at 4°C. The supernatant was collected, and the protein concentration was measured using the BCA ™ Protein Selonsertib Assay Kit (Pierce). Proteins (40 ug) in cell lysates or culture media were separated by 10-15% SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and transferred onto PVDF membrane. The membranes were blocked in TBST (0.2 M NaCl; 10 mM Tris pH7.4; 0.2% Tween20)/5% skim milk for 2 hours at room temperature and then incubated with primary antibodies in TBST/5% skim milk. The primary antibodies used for Western blot analysis were polyclonal rabbit anti-ECRG4 (1:2000) [8], polyclonal rabbit anti-p21(1:4000; Santa Cruz, CA),

polyclonal rabbit anti-p53 (1:4000; Santa Cruz, CA), and monoclonal mouse anti-β-actin (1:4000; Santa Cruz, CA). The membranes were then washed three times with TBST, followed by incubation with horseradish peroxidase-conjugated secondary antibody (1:4000) in TBST/5% skim milk. Bound antibody was visualized using ECL detection reagent. RT-PCR analysis Cells were

washed with PBS and collected for RT-PCR. The primers designed for ECRG4 were 5′-GGT TCT CCC TCG CAG CAC CT-3′ as forward and 5′-CAG CGT GTG GCA AGT CAT GGT TAG-3′ as reverse. Thermal find more cycles were: at 95°C for 2 min, then 30 cycles at 95°C for 30 sec, at 62°C for 30 sec, at 72°C for 1 min followed by extension at 72°C for 7 min [7]. Flow cytometric analysis of cell cycle The transfected cells (pcDNA3.1-ECRG4 and pcDNA3.1) were seeded at a density of 106 cells/100-mm dish in RPMI-1640 medium with 10% FBS for 48 hours. Then cells were washed with ice-cold PBS, harvested and next fixed in 70% ethanol for 30 minutes. Cells were treated with RNase A and stained with 25 μg/ml propidium iodide (PI). Samples were analyzed using a FACScan flow cytometer (Becton Dickinson), according to the manufacturer’s protocol. Experiments were performed three times in triplicate. The mean values for statistical analysis represent the average of three independent experiments. Statistical analysis All statistical analysis was performed with the SPSS statistical program (version 13.0). Statistical significance was determined using Student’s t -tests and analysis of variance. P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results ECRG4 overexpression suppressed cell migration and invasion The stable-transfected EC9706/pcDNA3.