Figure 5

Txk and Lck gene expression is modulated by dexamethasone treatment of thymocytes and splenocytes in vivo. Levels of Txk (A) and Lck (B) mRNA were evaluated in thymocytes (left panel) and splenocytes (right panel) from mice treated with 5 mg/kg (empty symbol) or 25 mg/kg (black symbol) dexamethasone, or saline solution. The animals were sacrificed 3 or 6 h after treatment. Changes in mRNA level were evaluated by RNAse protection assay as shown in Figure 2. Fold modulation is represented as the mean (±SD) of three independent experiments, with each experiment performed on cells pooled from three animals. The data are graphed on a logarithmic scale (base 2). *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01, and ***P < 0.001, according to Student’s t-test comparing the levels of kinase mRNA in cells from treated animals to that in cells from saline-treated animals.