Figure 4. PTEN is a direct target of miR-494 in INS-1 cells. (A) Schema of the firefly luciferase reporter constructs for the PTEN, indicating the interaction sites between miR-494 and the 3´-UTRs of PTEN. (B) Luciferase activities. INS-1 cells were co-transfected with firefly luciferase constructs containing the PTEN wild-type or mutated 3´-UTRs and miR-494 mimic or mimics NC, as indicated (n=3). (C and D) mRMA levels and protein expression of PTEN after treatment with miR-494 mimic or mimics NC and the optical densities of the bands were measured using Image-Pro Plus software (n=3). All data are expressed as the mean ± SD. **P < 0.01 vs mimics NC.