Research Paper Volume 11, Issue 11 pp 3716—3730
Long non-coding RNA MEG3 promotes fibrosis and inflammatory response in diabetic nephropathy via miR-181a/Egr-1/TLR4 axis
Figure 7. MEG3 promoted Egr1 expression and enhanced the fibrosis and inflammatory response of MCs by acting as a miR-181a sponge. (A, B) QPCR results showed that the expression level of Egr-1 was increased and decreased in MCs transfected with LV-MEG3 and siRNA-MEG3, respectively. (C, D) Western blot results showed that overexpression and knockout of MEG3 increased and decreased the expression level of Egr-1, respectively. (E, F) QPCR and Western blot revealing Egr-1 expression in MCs. The cells were transfected with mimic-miR-181a or LV-MEG3. (G, H) QPCR and Western blot showed the expression level of α-SMA in MCs. The cells were transfected with mimic-miR-181a or LV-MEG3. (I) The concentration of IL-1β in MCs was measured by ELISA. The cells were transfected with mimic-miR-181a or LV-MEG3.