Fig. 1

Increased expression of glycolysis-related genes in inflamed gingival tissues. a Gene transcription of HK2 and PFKFB3 in normal (n = 8) and inflamed (n = 6) gingival tissues was measured by qPCR. b Protein expression of HK2 and PFKFB3 in normal (n = 6) and inflamed (n = 6) gingival tissues was determined by immunohistochemistry staining. The figures (n1/2, m1/2, p1/2 and t1/2) show higher magnifications of the same sections in the indicated area. The scale bar represents 50 µm. c Quantification of positive cells from the immunohistochemistry staining. β-actin was used as an internal reference. The data were analyzed by Student’s t-test, and values are presented as the mean ± SD; *, p < 0.05 and **, p < 0.01, compared with the normal group. Figures n1/2 and m1/2 represent the expression of PFKFB3 and HK2 in the epithelial and connective tissue of the normal control group at higher magnification. Figures p1/2 and t1/2 represent the expression of PFKFB3 and HK2 in the epithelial tissue and connective tissue of the inflamed group at higher magnification