Figure 5. miR-29b induces HSC apoptosis.

(A) HSCs apoptosis was determined by Annexin V/7-AAD staining and analyzed by flow cytometry. Annexin V positive apoptotic cells were significantly increased in LX1 cells transfected with miR-29b compared with those transfected with control-miR. Data are mean ± SD from four independent experiments in duplicate. (B) Cell apoptosis in HSCs was examined by TUNEL staining. Apoptosis index was quantified by counting the proportion of TUNEL-positive cells. (C) Effects of miR-29b on protein expression of apoptosis-related genes by Western blot. GAPDH was used as loading control.