Figure 8.

miRNAs, Smad3, and TRIB2 in cancer samples correlated with clinical outcomes. (a and b) Western blot indicated that expression of p-Smad3 and TRIB2 was relatively higher in lung adenocarcinoma samples (n=10) compared with para-carcinomas (n=10, **P<0.01 versus para-carcinomas). Relative values for p-Smad3/GAPDH or TRIB2/GAPDH appear in the upper panels. (c) Kaplan–Meier survival analysis indicated that relatively higher TRIB2 expression is associated with poorer survival in lung cancer patients, P<0.05 versus lower TRIB2 levels. (d) A significantly positive correlation (r_s=0.227, P=0.016) was found between Smad3 and TRIB2 in lung cancer patients (n=111). (e) This study proposed model by which miR-206 (or miR-140) regulating Smad3 and TRIB2 in TGF-β1 pathway. p-Smad 3 binds to trib2 gene promoter to control its expression. miR-206 (or miR-140), negatively regulated by TGF-β1, can regulate the levels of Smad 3 in TGF-β1 pathway, which may in turn affect TGF-β1 levels