Exosomal miR-191 promotes colorectal cancer progression by inducing M2 macrophage polarization and inhibiting ferroptosis

Figure 3 Downregulation of miR-191 promotes reactive oxygen species production, ferroptosis, and apoptosis of colorectal cancer cells after co-culture of macrophages. A: Macrophages were cocultured with SW620 and LoVo cells, which were treated with miR-191 inhibitor. Quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction evaluated expression of miR-191 in colorectal cancer (CRC) cells; B: Flow cytometry was conducted to monitor the level of reactive oxygen species; C: Changes in expression of SLC7A11 and GPX4 were identified via western blotting; D: TUNEL staining of apoptosis in CRC cells. Magnification = 200 ×. ^bP < 0.01. ^cP < 0.001. ^dP < 0.0001. CRC: Colorectal cancer; NC: Negative control; ROS: Reactive oxygen species; GAPDH: Glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase.