Fig. 2

Knockdown of RFX1 increased TLR4 expression and promoted CD14⁺ monocyte activation. a The fold change of RFX1 protein expression was determined by western blotting in CD14⁺ monocytes transfected with RFX1-shRNA-1 or RFX1-shRNA-2 compared with Cntl-shRNA (/Cntl-shRNA). b, c The fold change of mRNA expression (b) and protein (c) of TLR4 were determined by RT-qPCR and western blotting in CD14⁺ monocytes transfected with RFX1-shRNA-1 or RFX1-shRNA-2 compared with Cntl-shRNA (/Cntl-shRNA). d The fold change of mRNA expression of TNF-α, IL-6 and MCP-1 were determined by RT-qPCR in CD14⁺ monocytes transfected with RFX1-shRNA-1 or RFX1-shRNA-2 compared with Cntl-shRNA (/Cntl-shRNA). e The adhesive capacity of CD14⁺ monocytes transfected with RFX1-shRNA-1, RFX1-shRNA-2, or with Cntl-shRNA was assessed using a fluorescence microscope (× 100). f The migration capacity of CD14⁺ monocytes transfected with RFX1-shRNA-1, RFX1-shRNA-2, or with Cntl-shRNA was assessed by a Transwell migration assay with a fluorescence microscope (× 100). All values are the average of at least three biological replicates, and the data shown are the means ± SDs. *P < 0.05; **P < 0.01 relative to control