MicroRNA-143 suppresses gastric cancer cell growth and induces apoptosis by targeting COX-2

Figure 1 MicroRNA-143 expression is downregulated in gastric cancer cell lines. A: Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction analysis was performed in five gastric cell lines and a normal gastric epithelium cell line (GES-1). Mature microRNA-143-5p (miR-143-5p) expression levels were significantly downregulated in gastric cancer cells, compared to normal gastric epithelium cells (^bP < 0.01). The mean value from the GES-1 cell line was normalized to 1; B: Mature miR-143-3p expression levels were significantly downregulated in gastric cancer cells, compared to normal gastric epithelium cells (^bP < 0.01); C: Western blot analysis showed that cyclooxygenase-2 protein expression in the five human gastric cancer cell lines inversely correlated with the miR-143 levels. GAPDH: Glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase; COX-2: Cyclooxygenase-2.