MiR-221 Promotes Hepatocellular Carcinoma Cells Migration via Targeting PHF2
Figure 3
PHF2 is a direct target of miR-221. (a) miRNAs were computationally predicted using two independent miRNA databases. The PHF2 protein level was measured by western blot analysis in SMMC-7721 cells transfected with miR-221 or anti-miR-221. (b) qRT-PCR results of PHF2 mRNA levels after transfecting SMMC-7721 cells with miR-221 or anti-miR-221. (c) Schematic description of wild type (WT) and mutated 3′-UTR of the PHF2 mRNA. The WT and mutated 3′UTR sequences were inserted into luciferase reporter plasmids. In luciferase activity assays, miR-221 suppressed luciferase activity of the wild type but not mutant PHF2 3′-UTR constructs in SMMC-7721 cells. (d) Knockdown of PHF2 promotes the migration of SMMC-7721 cells. Overexpression of PHF2 inhibits the migration of SMMC-7721 cells. (e) Restoration of PHF2 rescues miR-221 mediated promotion of cell migration. Each bar represents the mean ± SD of three independent experiments. P<0.01.