Figure 7.

miR-148b regulates C1GALT1 expression at protein level. (A) Transfection of PBMCs of healthy participant with 25 nM miR-148b mimic resulted in a 2.2-fold reduction in C1GALT1 protein expression. Increasing the miR-148b levels within PBMCs of healthy participants resulted in the same C1GALT1 protein levels as in IgAN PBMCs, as shown by Western blot. (B) Western blot representing protein levels of C1GALT1 in IgAN PBMCs after transfection with 250 nM miR-148b inhibitor. A significant increase in C1GALT1 protein production was shown in IgAN PBMCs transfected with miR-148b inhibitor (1.7-fold increase). miR-148b loss of function led to the same C1GALT1 protein levels as in PBMCs of healthy participants. “Mock” indicates mock-transfected cells going through the transfection processes without addition of mimic/inhibitor miRNA. In both experiments, β-actin was used as endogenous control. Data are representative of five independent experiments (mean ± SEM). **P<0.01, ^§P≤ 0.001.