Figure 4

Effect of P. gingivalis infection on PCSK9 and LDLR gene and protein expression in the liver. Total RNA and protein were extracted from the P. gingivalis-infected and sham-infected mice, and the samples were analyzed by quantitative RT-PCR or western blotting. Pcsk9 and Ldlr gene expression was significantly higher in the P. gingivalis-infected mice compared with the sham-infected mice (** P < 0.01, Mann–Whitney U-test). The PCSK9 protein levels of were unchanged in the P. gingivalis-infected mice compared with the sham-infected mice. LDLR protein levels were significantly lower in the P. gingivalis-infected mice compared with the sham-infected mice (^†P < 0.05, unpaired t-test).