Fig. 5

miR-34a suppresses EHCC cells invasion and migration through TGF-β/Smad4 signaling pathway. a The migration and invasive properties of EHCC cells treated with the empty vector, miR-34a mimic or miR-34a inhibitor were analyzed using a cell invasion assay in transwell chambers. Representative images of cells that had migrated into the lower chamber are shown (left panel, original magnification: ×100), and quantitative data are also presented (right panel, **P < 0.05 and ***P < 0.01). The average numbers of cells per field of view from three different experiments are plotted. b Both QBC939 and HuCCT1 cells were transfected with miR-34a mimics then treated with or without 5 ng/ml of TGF-β for 24 hrs to evaluate cell invasion and migration activities. Cells transfected with miR-34a scramble oligos were used as the controls. Representative images of cells in the lower section of a transwell chamber are shown to demonstrate the migration and invasive properties of QBC939 and HuCCT1 cells when transfected with the empty vector, miR-34a mimic, TGF-β or a mixed miR-34a and TGF-β (left panel). Quantitative analyses of the migrated and invasion cells are also shown (right panel, **P < 0.05 and ***P < 0.01 indicates miR-34a mimic, TGF-β or a mixed miR-34a and TGF-β vs. NC. $$$P < 0.01 means a mixed miR-34a and TGF-β vs. TGF-β). Data are plotted as the average number of cells per field of view from three different experiments (original magnification: ×100)