Fig. 3.

The STAT3 gene is targeted by miR-340-5p. a–c HepG2 cells were transfected with miR-340-5p mimics/inhibitors or negative control miRNA. At 48 h after transfection, total protein was extracted and analyzed by Western blotting. GAPDH was used as a loading control. d Sequence of the miR-340-5p binding site in the STAT3 3′-UTR was predicted using bioinformatics methods. e The results of 3′-UTR luciferase assays. Normalized luciferase activity, in cells transfected with reporter vector encoding the mutant-type 3′-UTR of STAT3, was not affected by overexpression of miR-340-5p compared with cells transfected with the wild-type 3′-UTR. Relative luciferase expression is shown as the mean ± standard deviation (SD). Three independent experiments were performed, and representative data are shown. *P < 0.05