MiR‐130a directly targets the 3′UTR of Smurf2 mRNA to regulate osteogenic differentiation. A, Schematic of miR‐130a putative target sites in mouse SMURF2 3′‐UTR. CDS, coding sequence. B, BMSC were transfected with luciferase reporter carrying WT or MUT 3′‐UTR of the SMURF2 gene (SMURF2‐3′‐UTR WT and SMURF2‐3′‐UTR MUT). Effects of miR‐130a on the reporter constructs were determined at 48 hours after transfection. Firefly luciferase values, normalized for renilla luciferase, are presented. n = 3 per group. C, Western blot analysis of the relative levels of Runx2 and Smurf2 protein expression in BMSC transfected with agomiR‐130a and antagomiR‐130a. β‐Actin was used as loading control. Data are representative of 3 independent experiments. D, qRT‐PCR analysis of levels of Smurf2 mRNA expression in BMSC transfected with agomiR‐130a and antagomiR‐130a. n = 3 per group. Data shown as mean ± SD. **P < .01 vs. agomiR‐NC or agomiR‐130a (Student's t test)