Figure 4

Phe affected miR-133a and transcription factors which are involved in the process of cardiac hypertrophy.

(A) Phe exposure significantly reduced the level of miR-133a in H9C2 cells. Means of exposures not sharing a common letter are significantly different at P < 0.05 (Dunnett) (n = 6). (B) The protein expression level of CdC42 and RhoA, which are the specific target genes of miR-133a, were effectively increased after Phe exposure in H9C2 cells. Intensities of protein bands were quantified using densitometry. Results are expressed as multiples (×folds) of optical density of target protein and the alpha-tubulin determined in the control. The mean protein expression from the control was designated as 1 in the graph. Values (means ± S.D.) are representative of data obtained in three independent experiments (n = 3). Treatments not sharing a common letter are significantly different at P < 0.05 as assessed by one-way ANOVA followed by the Dunnett’s test.