miRNA studies in in vitro and in vivo activated hepatic stellate cells

Figure 9 Time-dependent changes in the expression of different miRNAs during in vitro activation and miRNA mimic and inhibitor transfection of primary hepatic stellate cells. A: The relative changes in the expression level after 3, 5, 7 and 10 d of in vitro primary hepatic stellate cells (pHSCs) activation is shown for miR-146a, 26a, 29a and 214 (^aP≤ 0.05, one-way ANOVA). The data represent one of two independent experiments performed in triplicate; B: pHSCs were transfected with miR-146a, 26a, 29a mimics or miR-214 inhibitor or in combination. The control transfection consisted of control miRNAs for the mimic and/or inhibitor. The smooth muscle α-actin and ColI mRNA expression was analyzed as fold change relative to mock controls. The data represent the mean ± SE of two independent experiments, each performed in triplicate (^aP≤ 0.05, ^bP≤ 0.01, ^cP≤ 0.001). SMAA: Smooth muscle α-actin.