Fig. 6

The role of miR-148a in HCC cells was mediated by SMAD2. a pcDNA3.1-SMAD2 plasmids were transfected into miR-148a overexpressing MHCC-97H and Huh7 cells to transiently overexpress SMAD2 level. Forty-eight h after transfection, cell lysates were subjected to western blot to evaluate SMAD2 expression. b SMAD2 were stably knocked down in miR-148a knocking down HLF and Hep3B cells. Western blot was performed to analyze SMAD2 knocking down efficacy. GAPDH as loading control in (a, b). c, d Representative images of migration assay in the indicated cells (c, d, upper panel). Quantification of cells migrated (c, d, lower panel). Scale bar, red bar, 25 μm. e, f CCK8 assay in the indicated cells. g Representative ISH images of miR-148a in paired HCC samples (upper panel). Scale bar, red, bar, 200 μm. ISH scoring of miR-148a in 77 pairs of HCC tissues (lower panel). N, non-cancerous tissues. T, tumor tissues. Data are shown as Mean ± SEM. *, p < 0.05. **, p < 0.01