Figure 2

CTGF/CCN2 contributes to the epithelial-matrix interaction during lactogenic differentiation in HC11 cells. HC11-TRE and HC11-TRE-CTGF cells were seeded in serum-free conditions on respective coated or uncoated tissue culture dishes and once confluent, induced to differentiate with DIP for 48 hours. Total RNA was harvested and levels of β-casein transcript were determined by northern blot analysis and normalized to actin. Contribution of the matrix proteins to β-casein transcription can be seen by fold induction analysis of the RNA (white bars = HC11-TRE, dark bars = HC11-TRE-CTGF).