Fig. 3

HDAC3 downregulates miR-494 expression by enriching in the miR-494 promoter to promote ESCC cell malignant phenotypes. A Venn diagram displaying the intersection of downstream miRNAs for HDAC3 predicted by the RNAInter database. B Venn diagram displaying the intersection of candidate miRNAs and 228 downregulated genes in the GSE16456 dataset. C A box plot displaying miR-494 expression in the GSE16456 dataset. D miR-494 expression in ESCC and adjacent tissues (n = 79). E Pearson analysis for the correlation between HDAC3 and miR-494 expression. F HDAC3 protein expression in HEECs and EC cell lines (EC9706, Eca109, EC1 and KYSE-150). G Enrichment of HDAC3 in the miR-494 promoter region in ESCC and adjacent tissues. H miR-494 expression in EC9706 and Eca109 cells transfected with sh-HDAC3. I Proliferation of EC9706 and Eca109 cells transfected with sh-HDAC3 or in combination with miR-494 inhibitor. J Apoptosis of EC9706 and Eca109 cells transfected with sh-HDAC3 or in combination with miR-494 inhibitor. K Migration of EC9706 and Eca109 cells transfected with sh-HDAC3 or in combination with miR-494 inhibitor. L Invasion of EC9706 and Eca109 cells transfected with sh-HDAC3 or in combination with miR-494 inhibitor. M Protein levels of cleaved caspase-3, total caspase-3, MMP-2 and MMP-9 normalized to GAPDH in EC9706 and Eca109 cells transfected with sh-HDAC3 or in combination with miR-494 inhibitor. *p < 0.05 vs. adjacent tissues, HEECs or EC9706 and Eca109 cells transfected with sh-NC or sh-NC + NC inhibitor. #p < 0.05 vs. EC9706 and Eca109 cells transfected with sh-HDAC3 + NC inhibitor. Measurement data were expressed as mean ± standard deviation derived from at least 3 independent experiments. Data between ESCC and adjacent tissues were compared by paired t test while data comparison between other two groups was analyzed by unpaired t test. Data comparison among multiple groups was conducted by one-way ANOVA, followed by Tukey’s post hoc test