Figure 2


Transfection of pre-miR-21 into PLC/PRF/5 and HepG2. (A) qRT–PCR showed significant overexpression of miR-21 in the transfected cells compared with control cells (*P<0.05). (B) MTT assay showed that the anti-tumour effects of the combination of IFN-α and 5-FU in the miR-21 upregulated cells was significantly lower than in control cells (*P<0.05). (C and D) MTT assay revealed that the anti-tumour effects of IFN-α (C) and 5-FU (D) in the miR-21 upregulated cells was significantly less profound than in control cells (*P<0.05). (E) The percentage of early apoptotic cells induced by 1000 IU per ml IFN-α or 1.0 μg per ml 5-FU among miR-21 upregulated cells was significantly lower than in control cells (*P<0.05). Data are mean±s.d. of three experiments.