Research Paper Volume 16, Issue 4 pp 3896—3914
GAS5, a long noncoding RNA, contributes to annulus fibroblast osteogenic differentiation and apoptosis in intervertebral disk degeneration via the miR-221-3p/SOX11 axis
Figure 4. miR-221-3p suppresses SOX11 expression. (A) The Venn diagram was drawn to obtain the common lncRNA of upregulated mRNA in IVDD based on the GSE56081 dataset and the potential target mRNA of miR-221-3p predicted by ENCORI. (B) qRT-PCR and (C) western blotting were utilized to detect mRNA and protein expression of SOX11 in AFs isolated from sham and IVDD rats, respectively (n = 3). (D) The potential binding sites between GAS5 and miR-221-3p predicted by ENCORI. (E) Luciferase activity and (F) AGO2-RIP were employed to evaluate the binding between lncRNA GAS5 and miR-221-3p (n = 3). (G) qRT-PCR and (H) western blotting were used to examine the expression levels of SOX11 in AFs with miR-221-3p overexpression or silencing (n = 3). (*p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, and ***p < 0.001).