Fig. 5

C1QB is the target gene of miR-103a-3p and plays a promoting role in melanoma cells. A Bioinformatics analysis via GEPIA-survival (p < 0.05), GEPIA-upregulate (log2 fold change < 2 and p > 0.05) and starBase singled out three candidate mRNAs (FOXM1, BST2 and C1QB) that may be the downstream targets of miR-103a-3p. B QRT-PCR was employed to assess the expression of the three mRNAs in A375 cells after the transfection with mimic-miR-103a-3p. C The combination between C1QB and miR-103a-3p was validated by Ago2-RIP assay. D StarBase was applied to project the potential binding sites of C1QB and miR-103a-3p. E Luciferase reporter assays were performed to validate the interaction between C1QB and miR-103a-3p on the potential binding sites. * P < 0.05, ** P < 0.01