MicroRNA-145 exerts tumor-suppressive and chemo-resistance lowering effects by targeting CD44 in gastric cancer

Figure 2 miR-145 targets the CD44 3’UTR directly in gastric cancer cells. ^aP < 0.05, ^bP < 0.01, ^eP < 0.001 vs the control; data are the mean ± SEM of at least three independent experiments. A: A putative miRNA-recognition element (MRE) for miR-145 on the 3’UTR of CD44; B: miR-145 regulated CD44 3’UTR activity negatively; C: MRE site-mutation abolished the effects of miR-145 on CD44 3’UTR activity. MGC-803 cells were co-transfected with pMT-CD44-3’ UTR-luc or pWT-CD44-3’UTR-luc with or without miR-145 mimics or an miR-145 inhibitor, respectively, and the transfected cells were harvested 36 h later for luciferase reporter assays as described; D: miR-145 mimics inhibited CD44 protein expression; E: The miR-145 inhibitor increased CD44 protein expression. MGC-803 cells were transfected with or without miR-145 mimics or a miR-145 inhibitor, respectively, and the transfected cells were harvested 48 h later for western blotting analysis. RLU: Relative luciferase activity.