Fig. 4: miR-139-5p regulates the expression of β-catenin by binding to the 3’ UTR of its mRNA directly.

A schematic diagram suggested the putative binding sites of miR-139-5p with respect to β-catenin. B WT HLF 3’UTR or MUT HLF 3’UTR luciferase reporter activity in LX-2 cells was detected by dual-luciferase reporter assay. C The protein levels of β-catenin, α-SMA, Collagen-I, and TIMP-1 in LX-2-pre-miR-139-5p cells infected with Ad-β-catenin were detected by western blotting. Representative of three experiments. D Immunofluorescence staining for α-SMA (green) in LX-2-pre-miR-139-5p cells after transfection with Ad-β-catenin was observed by confocal laser microscopy. DAPI was used to stain nuclei, blue. Original magnification×400, Representative of three experiments. E Proliferation of LX-2-pre-miR-139-5p cells infected with Ad-β-catenin was analyzed by CCK8 assay. F The wound-healing assay of LX-2-pre-miR-139-5p cells infected with Ad-β-catenin or Ad-Con was performed to analyze the migration capability. Representative of three experiments. G The transwell assay of the LX-2-pre-miR-139-5p cells transfected with Ad-β-catenin or Ad-Con was carried out to observe the migration capability, representative of three experiments. The number of cells was calculated from different fields. Graph represents mean ± SD. *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01.