Figure 4.

miR‐16 directly targets the 3′‐UTR of AKT3 and BCL2L2. TargetScan 7.1 was used to predict the potential downstream targets of miR‐16. Sequence alignment between miR‐16 and 3′‐UTR of AKT3 (a) and BCL2L2 (b). Effects of miR‐16 on 3′‐UTR of AKT3 (c) or BCL2L2 (d) were determined by the Luciferase activity assay. Wild type and mutation AKT3 or BCL2L2 were inserted into the luciferase reporter vector and then cotransfected into SCC‐25 cells with miR‐16. After 48 hr of transfection, luciferase activities were measured. Data were presented as mean ± standard deviation for three independent experiments. **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001 versus the negative control. miR‐16, microRNA‐16; UTR, untranslated region