Fig. 2

Ectopic miR-216b suppresses the proliferation of HeLa cells. a Effect of miR-216b mimics and inhibitors on miR-216b expression. Transfection of miR-216b mimics dramatically elevated miR-216b level and miR-216b inhibitors decreased miR-216b expression in HeLa cells. b MTT assay showed that ectopic miR-216b suppressed the proliferation of indicated HeLa cells, whereas miR-216b inhibitors stimulated cell proliferation. c Representative micrographs (left) and quantifications (right) of crystal violet stained cell colonies formed by the indicated HeLa cells, 10 days after cell inoculation. Effects of ectopic miR-216b obviously reduced the colony formation ability of indicated HeLa cells, whereas miR-216b inhibition dramatically increased colony formation. Colonies containing >50 cells were counted. * P < 0.05