Fig. 4

p53 was a target of miR-223-3p. a The putative miR-223-3p binding site in the p53 3’-UTR. The luciferase activity was analyzed after co-transfection with either miR-223-3-mimics or the negative control with the psiCHECK-p53 wild-type plasmid or mutant plasmid in 293 T cells. b p53 protein levels were determined using Western blot analysis after transfection of miR-223-3p mimic, mimic-NC, inhibitor or inhibitor-NC into LSCC cells. c p53 downregulation significantly suppressed the in vitro growth of the LSCC cells in a CCK-8 assay. d The transwell assay showed that p53 knockdown markedly decreased the migratory potential of the LSCC cells. These results are representative of at least three independent experiments. All bars represent the mean values ± SD. The scale bar was 200 μm. **P < 0.01