Fig. 4

HK2 knockdown reduces inflammatory responses to P. gingivalis. Human gingival fibroblasts were transfected with small interfering scrambled control (si Scr) and si HK2 siRNA. a The efficiency of HK2 knockdown was determined by qPCR and western blotting at 48 and 72 h, respectively. b Gene transcription was assessed by qPCR at 4 h. c Protein expression in the culture supernatants was determined by ELISA at 24 h. d The proliferation rate was quantified by EdU incorporation at 24 h, and the scale bar represents 100 µm. β-actin was used as an internal reference. The data in (a) were analyzed by Student’s t test. The data in (b–d) were analyzed by ANOVA and the Dunnett multiple-comparison test, and values are presented as the mean ± SD; *, p < 0.05 and **, p < 0.01, compared with the si Scr group; #, p < 0.05 and ##, p < 0.01, compared with the P. g + si Scr group