Fig. 2

miR-541 inhibits the proliferation and activation of LX-2 cells. (A) The expression of miR-541 was detected in LX-2 cells treated with 5 ng/ml TGF-β and the control group (0). (B) miR-541 expression was detected in LX-2 cells treated with TGF-β (5 ng/ml) at 0 h, 12 h, and 24 h. (C) miR-541 mimic reduced, while miR-541 inhibitor increased the secretion of hydroxyproline in LX-2 cells treated by TGF-β (5 ng/ml). (D) Transfection of miR-541 mimic inhibited the proliferation of LX-2 cells treated by TGF-β (5 ng/ml). (E) miR-541 mimic reduced the expression of mRNA of Acta2 and Col1a1 in LX-2 cells treated by TGF-β (5 ng/ml). (F) Western blot analysis was performed in LX-2 cells treated by TGF-β (5 ng/ml) and transfected with miR-541 mimic or negative control (NC) to detect α-SMA and Col1a1 expression. The bands were quantified by image J software, and the intensity of the bands was calculated as the ratio of the indicated band to the GAPDH band. (G) Transfection of miR-541 inhibitor enhanced the proliferation of LX-2 cells treated by TGF-β (5ng/ml). (H) miR-541 inhibitor promoted the expression of mRNA of Acta2 and Col1a1 in LX-2 cells treated by TGF-β (5ng/ml). (I) miR-541 inhibitor enhanced the protein expression of α-SMA and Col1a1 in LX-2 cells treated by TGF-β (5ng/ml). * p < 0.05, ** p < 0.01 and *** p < 0.001 by two-tailed Student’s t-test. Experiments were performed in triplicate and data are presented as means ± SD.