Motifs regulated by HOXB5 in its target miR-6723. (a) Top 10 target analysis by ChIP-seq in Cistrome data (http://dc2.cistrome.org/#/). (b) Motif analysis of the target gene, that is, miR-6723, in the promoter region by using the ChIPseeker. Two individual motifs and their locations within the promoters of miR-6723, Chr1 629791-630040 and Chr1 633904-634132. (c) qRT-PCR was used to detect the level of miR-6723 after HOXB5 knockdown and overexpression; HOXB5 promoted miR-6723 expression (P < 0.05). (d) Luciferase report assay showed that HOXB5 transcriptionally activated motifs 1 and 2 and enhanced by 1 + 2 sequences. (e) TCGA database showed a positive correlation between HOXB5 and miR-6723 expression in patients with PC. (f) HOXB5 had a positive correlation with miR-6723 (R = 0.12, p = 0.051). (g) Tumor sizes and node numbers showed a significant correlation with miR-6723 level (P < 0.05).