Fig. 4

Proliferative, migratory, and invasive capacity of fibroblasts following the down-regulation of USP13. a Proliferation of cells with USP13 deficiency. At 48 h after transfection with USP13 siRNA (USP13si) or NC siRNA (NCsi), MRC-5 cell proliferation was assessed by a BrdU incorporation assay. The proliferating cells that recently underwent DNA synthesis were labeled with BrdU (green), and total nuclei were visualized by DAPI (blue) staining. % BrdU: Percent of BrdU⁺ cells within the siRNA-treated MRC-5 cell population. Error bars indicate the mean ± SEM. ***p <0.001. b The migratory and invasive capacity of fibroblasts with decreased USP13. Twenty-four hours after transfection with either USP13 siRNA or NC siRNA, equal numbers of fibroblasts were loaded into transwell chambers with or without matrigel. Images of migratory fibroblasts (top panel) and invasive fibroblasts (bottom panel) are shown from a crystal violet staining assay at different time points, as indicated