Research Paper Volume 13, Issue 13 pp 17349—17369

Figure 3. miR-144-3p inhibited CRA cell migration, invasion and tumor metastasis. (A) Transwell migration assay of migratory ability of Lovo cells transfected with miR-144-3p mimic and HCT116 cells transfected with miR-144-3p inhibitor. (B) Transwell invasion assay of invasive ability of Lovo cells transfected with miR-144-3p mimic and HCT116 cells transfected with miR-144-3p inhibitor. (C) Overexpression of miR-144-3p in Lovo cells significantly enhanced cell-cell adhesion and decreased cell-ECM adhesion. (D) Knockdown of miR-144-3p in HCT116 cells significantly inhibited cell-cell adhesion and increased the cell-ECM adhesion. (E) In vivo metastatic assays by splenic injection showed that miR-144-3p inhibited CRA liver metastasis. The number of liver metastatic nodules from mice with inoculation of Lovo^{miR-144-3p mimic} cells was significantly smaller than that from mice with inoculation of control cells, whereas the number of liver metastatic nodules from mice with inoculation of HCT116^{miR-144-3p inhibitor} cells was significantly larger than that from mice with inoculation of control cells. ECM, extracellular matrix. *, P<0.05; **, P<0.01; ***, P < 0.001.