[Retracted] Circular RNA hsa_circ_0001658 Inhibits Intervertebral Disc Degeneration Development by Regulating hsa-miR-181c-5p/FAS

Figure 4

hsa-miR-181c-5p downregulated the expression of FAS, promoted the proliferation, and inhibited the apoptosis of hNPCs. (a) FAS and hsa-miR-181c-5p targeting binding site prediction and comparison of luciferase activity in hNPCs for no template control (NC), hsa-miR-181c-5p mimic+FAS Wt, and hsa-miR-181c-5p mimic+FAS Mut transfection. (b) The relative expression level of FAS protein in hNPCs for NC, hsa-miR-181c-5p mimic, and hsa-miR-181c-5p inhibitor transfection was detected by western blot. (c) The relative expression level of FAS protein in hNPCs for the control group (control), 5 ng/ml TNF-α- and IL-1β-treated hNPCs, and 5 ng/ml TNF-α- and IL-1β-treated and transfected with hsa-miR-181c-5p mimic was detected by western blot. (d) The cell proliferation of hNPCs for the NC group, FAS overexpression (pc-FAS), and pc-FAS+hsa-miR-181c-5p mimic transfection was detected by Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8). (e) The apoptosis rate of hNPCs for the NC group, pc-FAS, and pc-FAS+hsa-miR-181c-5p mimic transfection was detected by flow cytometry. (f) The protein expression levels of MMP-3, MMP-13, collagen II, and aggrecan in hNPCs for the NC group, pc-FAS, and pc-FAS+hsa-miR-181c-5p mimic transfection were detected by western blot. , , and .

(a)

(b)

(c)

(d)

(e)

(f)