miR-30a-5p is the direct target of lncRNA HOTAIR. (A) The predicted complementary binding site between lncRNA HOTAIR and miR-30a-5p. (B) The mRNA expression level of miR-30a-5p following transfection with sh-HOTAIR/NC into the MLE-12 cells was detected using reverse transcription-quantitative PCR. **P<0.01 vs. sh-NC. (C) The luciferase activity in the MLE-12 cells co-transfected with pGL3-HOTAIR WT/pGL3-HOTAIR MUT and miR-30a-5p mimics/NC was determined using a dual luciferase reporter assay. **P<0.01 vs. miR-NC. NC, negative control; lnc, long non-coding; miR, microRNA, sh, short hairpin; WT, wild-type; MUT, mutant.