Identification miR-140-3p as a target of LINC01385. (A) The predicted complementary binding site between LINC01385 and miR-140-3p. (B) The luciferase activity in the HC-a cells, co-transfected with pGL3-LINC01385 WT or pGL3-LINC01385 MUT with miR-140-3p mimics or NC mimics was determined using a dual luciferase reporter assay. ***P<0.001 vs. the NC mimics group. (C) The mRNA expression level of miR-140-3p in OA (n=25) and normal (n=25) tissues was detected using RT-qPCR. ***P<0.001 vs. normal. (D) The correlation between LINC01385 and miR-140-3p mRNA expression level. (E) The mRNA expression level of miR-140-3p following transfection with sh-LINC01385 or pcDNA-LINC01385-SNHG1 and their respective controls into the HC-a was detected using qRT-PCR. ***P<0.001 vs. the pcDNA3.1 group. ###P<0.001 vs. the sh-NC group. RT-qPCR, reverse transcription-quantitative PCR; sh, short hairpin; NC, negative control; miR, microRNA; WT, wild-type; MUT, mutant; OA, osteoarthritis.