Fig. 2.

Smad3 is identified as the direct target of miR-152-5p. (A) Schematic of the luciferase reporter plasmids construction. (B) A dual-luciferase reporter assay indicated that miR-152-5p significantly inhibited the luciferase activity of vectors that carried 3′-UTRs of Smad3. (C) The relative expression of Smad3 in HKFs compared with HSFs. (D) Inverse correlation of miR-152-5p and Smad3 expression in HKFs. (E) The IHC result showed that the percentage of area positive for Smad3 protein staining was obviously higher in keloids than normal controls. (F) Typical photographs of IHC staining.