Fig. 11

Inhibition of the TGF-β/smad pathway represses CC cell EMT, invasion and migration induced by miR-137 down-regulation. a The expression of TGF-β1, Smad2, Smad3, Smad4, E-cadherin, N-cadherin and Vimentin in CC cells co-transfected with miR-137 inhibitor and si-TGF-β1 or si-NC as a control determined by RT-qPCR and western blot analysis; b the OD value of CC cells co-transfected with miR-137 inhibitor and si-TGF-β1 or si-NC as a control measured by MTT assay; c colony formation situation of CC cells co-transfected with miR-137 inhibitor and si-TGF-β1 or si-NC as a control assess by colony formation assay; d the cell cycle distribution of CC cells co-transfected with miR-137 inhibitor and si-TGF-β1 or si-NC as a control tested by flow cytometry; e the cell apoptosis of CC cells co-transfected with miR-137 inhibitor and si-TGF-β1 or si-NC as a control tested by flow cytometry; f cell invasion of CC cells co-transfected with miR-137 inhibitor and si-TGF-β1 or si-NC as a control using Transwell assay (×200); g cell migration distance at 0 h and 24 h using scratch test; ^#p < 0.05 vs. the miR-137 inhibitor + si-NC group; statistical data were presented as mean ± standard deviation; data between two groups were analyzed by paired t-test; the experiment was repeated 3 times independently. CC cervical cancer, GREM1 gremlin-1, miR-137 microRNA-137, NC negative control