Fig. 4

GDF5 was regulated by CDR1as/miR-7. a The seed sequences of miR-7 match the 3’ untranslated region (UTR) of growth differentiation factor 5 (GDF5). b The 293 T cells were cotransfected with 100 nM microRNA normal control (miR-NC), miR-7 mimics, or miR-7 inhibitor and the luciferase constructs carrying 40 ng GDF5 luciferase reporter plasmids. Luciferase assays were performed 24 h after transfection. c Quantification of mRNA expression of GDF5 measured by qRT-PCR in miR-7 inhibitor, miR-7 mimic, small interfering RNAs targeting CDR1as (si-CDR1as), si-CDR1as/miR-7 inhibitor, and si-CDR1as/miR-7 mimic transfected PDLSCs relative to the control groups. GAPDH mRNA levels were used for normalization. d Western blot analysis of protein expression of GDF5 and the internal control β-ACTIN in miR-7 inhibitor, miR-7 mimic, si-CDR1as, si-CDR1as/miR-7 inhibitor, si-CDR1as/miR-7 mimic, and normal control (NC) groups. The histogram shows the quantification of band intensities. *p < 0.05, **p < 0.001