Effects of the miR-203 mimic transfection on the Ren and Cd38 expression. The miR-203 mimic (5′-GUGAAAUGUUUAGGACCACUAG-3′, 5′-AGUGGUCCUAAACAUUUCACUU-3′) and the non-specific control RNA (miR-203 mimic NC) (5′-UUCUCCGAACGUGUCACGUtt-3′, 5′-ACGUGACACGUUCGGAGAAtt-3′) were synthesized by Nihon Gene Research Laboratories, Inc. (NGRL; Sendai, Japan). They were introduced into the As4.1 JG cells using Lipofectamine® RNAiMAX just before the IH/normoxia exposure, and the mRNA levels of Ren and Cd38 were measured by means of a real-time RT-PCR, as described in the Materials and Methods Section, using Rig/RpS15 as an endogenous control. The data are expressed as the mean ± SE for each group of six independent experiments (n = 6). The statistical analyses were performed using a Student’s t-test.