Integrated diagnostic model based on serum exosomal microRNAs and functional mechanism of miR-200b-3p in hepatocellular carcinoma

Figure 6 MiR-200b-3p directly targets and suppresses phosphoserine aminotransferase 1 by binding to its 3’ untranslated region. A: Venn diagram showing the four microRNAs that were significantly differentially expressed in both serum exosomes and liver tissues of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and non-HCC cases; B-F: Expression levels of the five predicted target mRNAs that are differentially expressed in both serum exosomes and liver tissues of HCC and non-HCC cases; G: Analysis of phosphoserine aminotransferase 1 expression levels by immunohistochemical staining; H and I: Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction validation of miR-200b-3p overexpression efficiency in HepG2 and MHCC97H cells; J and K: Western blot analysis validating the efficiency of miR-200b-3p knockdown and overexpression in HepG2 and MHCC97H cells; L: Dual-luciferase reporter assay validates phosphoserine aminotransferase 1 as a direct target of miR-200b-3p. ^aP < 0.05, ^bP < 0.01, ^cP < 0.001, and ^dP < 0.0001. PSAT1: Phosphoserine aminotransferase 1; NC: Normal control; HCC: Hepatocellular carcinoma; OE: Overexpression; SP: Sponge; NS: Not significant.