MiR-202-5p induces GC apoptosis and suppresses GC proliferation. (A) miR-202-5p induces cell apoptosis. GCs were treated with miR-202-5p mimics or miR-202-5p inhibitors and mimics negative control (NC) or inhibitor NC. Cell apoptosis were measured by Fluorescence activated cell sorting (FACS) and apoptotic rates were calculated. (B,C) mRNA levels of BAX and Bcl2 detected by qPCR. (D) GC proliferation assessed via EdU assays. Cells were cultured in EdU-488 reagent after transfection with miR-202-5p mimics or miR-202-5p inhibitors and mimics NC or inhibitor NC. EdU-488 represents proliferative cells; blue Hoechst 33342 staining showing total cell numbers, scale bar = 200 μm. (E,F) mRNA levels of CyclinD, Notch2, and PCNA were analyzed by qPCR. All samples were measured from at least three independent experiments. GAPDH was used as an internal control for qPCRs. Bars indicate the mean ± SEM of three independent replicates; *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01.