Fig. 6

Gene silencing of calnexin attenuates HCT116 colon cancer cell survival. Western blot analysis depicting decreased expression of calnexin in HCT116 colon cancer cells following transfection for 24 h with calnexin siRNA compared with control siRNA (a). Sample image of a clonogenic survival assay and histogram depicting total colony number following transfection of HCT116 cells with control or calnexin siRNA for 24 h and subsequent colony formation for a further 14 days (b; n = 3). Annexin V and PI staining of HCT116 cells transfected with control or calnexin siRNA for 24 h followed by treatment with 5FU (20 µg/ml) for 48 h as determined by flow cytometry (c, *p < 0.05 versus HCT116 cells transfected with control siRNA and treated with 5FU; d, **p < 0.01 versus HCT116 cells transfected with control siRNA and treated with vehicle, ^###p < 0.001 versus HCT116 cells transfected with calnexin siRNA and treated with vehicle; E, **p < 0.01 versus HCT116 cells transfected with control siRNA and treated with 5FU; graphs representative of three independent experiments)