Fig. 5

Prrx1 and miR-140-3p formed reciprocal negative feedback verified through over/reduced expression analyses in the RM cell lines. A Designed miR-140-3p overexpression vector. B Designed miRNA inhibition (sponge) vector of miR-140-3p. C Designed Prrx1 overexpression vector. D Designed Prrx1 RNAi lentivirus vector. E RM cell lines with overexpression or downregulation of miR-140-3p and Prrx1 (scale bars, 125 μm). F miR-140-3p, Prrx1 mRNA, and protein patterns via qPCR and western blot after overexpression or downregulation of miR-140-3p and Prrx1 in the RM cells (n = 3 biological replicates per group). Data are presented as the mean ± standard error. Two-tailed Student’s t-test was used to compare the differences between two groups. *p < 0.05; **p < 0.01