Gene expression analysis in NB and HeLa cells and correlation analysis.

Abstract

<p>(A) Relative gene expression analysis of the <i>ALK</i>, <i>PHOX2B</i> and <i>PHOX2A</i> genes, carried out in a panel of NB and in HeLa cell lines by real-time RT-qPCR using a pool of normal tissue RNAs as reference sample (see <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0013108#s4" target="_blank">Methods</a>), shows over-expression of the three genes in all but two NB cell lines tested (GI-ME-N and ACN). (B) X-Y Plots showing a significant correlation between the expression level of <i>PHOX2B</i> and <i>PHOX2A vs.ALK</i> (left) and <i>PHOX2Avs. PHOX2B</i> (right) genes in the analyzed cell lines. Pearson's correlation coefficient indicates a very significant correlation of the three transcription levels <i>vs.</i> each other. Values are the mean ± s.d. of N = 3 independent RT-qPCR analyses performed in triplicate.</p