Figure 9. miR-29b is necessary for muscle atrophy in vivo.

(a) qRT–PCR analysis showed reduced miR-29b, but not miR-29a or miR-29c expressions, in mice treated with miR-29b sponge compared to fugw control (n=5 per group). (b) qRT–PCR analysis showed reduced miR-29b expression level in miR-29b sponge-treated mice in the presence or absence of denervation (Den) (n=5 per group). (c,d) Gastrocnemius weight (GW) and gastrocnemius weight/body weight (GW/BW) ratio showed that miR-29b sponge at least partly blocked denervation-induced muscle atrophy (n=5 per group). (e) Haematoxylin–eosin (HE) staining demonstrated increased muscle fibre diameter in denervated mice treated with miR-29b sponge compared to those treated with fugw control (n=5 per group, scale bar, 50 μm). (f) qRT–PCR analysis showed downregulated Atrogin-1 and Murf-1 expressions in denervated mice treated with miR-29b sponge compared to those treated with fugw control (n=5 per group). Age- and sex-matched mice were used for experiments randomly. Error bars, s.e.m. An unpaired, two-tailed Student's t-test was used for comparisons between two groups (a). One-way ANOVA test was performed to compare multiple groups followed by Bonferroni's post hoc test (b–f). *P<0.05, **P<0.01.