Figure 4. MiR-378a-3p induces inactivation of primary HSCs by reducing Gli3 and Gli2 expression.

(a) Primary aHSCs were transfected with either an miR-378a-3p mimic (white bar) or scrambled (Scr)-miR (control) (black bar) oligonucleotide for 24 and 48 h, and expression of gli3 and gli2 was assessed by qRT–PCR. (b) Western blot analysis and (c) cumulative densitometric analyses for nuclear Gli3 (145 kDa) and Gli2 (133 kDa), with Laminβ1 (68 kDa) as an internal control for nuclear fraction. Data shown represent one of three experiments with similar results. (d) qRT–PCR analysis for genes related to activation of HSC, including vimentin, α-sma, col1α1 and mmp9, and the inactivation marker of HSC, gfap, in primary HSCs transfected with miR-378a-3p mimic (white bar) or scrambled (Scr)-miR (control) (black bar) oligonucleotide for 24 and 48 h. All results of relative expression values are shown as mean±s.e.m. obtained from triplicate experiments (unpaired two-sample Student's t-test, *P<0.05 and **P<0.005 versus Scr-miR).