Fig. 5

VEGFA was a target gene of miR-29a-3p, which expression was directly inhibited by miR-29a-3p. A VEGFA mRNA expression was increased in HEC-1A and Ishikawa cells when compared withthat in EEC. *** P < 0.001 when relative to VEGFA mRNA expression in EEC. B VEGFA protein expression was elevated in HEC-1A and Ishikawa cells when relative to that in EEC. ** P < 0.01 when relative to VEGFA protein expression in EEC. C Prediction from TargetScan showed thatVEGFA possessed binding site for miR-29a-3p in the 3C-1A and Ishikawa cellsluciferase reporter gene assay verified that VEGFA was directly inhibited by miR-29a-3p. ** P < 0.01 when relative to miR-NC group. E miR-29a-3p up-regulation reduced VEGFA mRNA expression in HEC-1A and Ishikawa cells. *** P < 0.001 relative to BLANK groupandmiR-NC group