Figure 4.

circMED27 may function as a sponge for miR-655-3p

(A) circRIP was carried out in HCCLM3 cells using a circMED27-specific probe and a negative control probe, respectively. The enrichment of circMED27 and microRNAs was detected by quantitative real-time RT-PCR and normalized to the negative control probe. (B) RIP experiments were carried out using an AGO2 antibody on extracts from HCCLM3 cells. (C) Co-localization between circMED27 and miR-655-3p was detected using RNA in situ hybridization in HCCLM3 cells. Nuclei were stained with DAPI. (D) A schematic drawing showing the putative binding sites of miR-655-3p with circMED27. (E) The luciferase activity of luc-circMED27 or mutant luc-circMED27 in HCCLM3 cells after co-transfection with miR-655-3p. (F) miR-655-3p expression in HCC cell lines with decreased circMED27 was examined using quantitative real-time RT-PCR. The data are represented as the mean ± SD. ∗p < 0.05; ∗∗p < 0.01; NS, not significant.