Table 1.
Primer sequences.
Fig 1.
The miR-21 expression levels of fresh cervical biopsy samples in relation to histological grading.
miR-21 expression levels were measured by qRT-PCR. Significant differences between pathological grades and miR-21 expression (-delta CT) were found at P = 0.005. The expression levels of miR-21 were significantly lower in normal cervical cells than in cervicitis, CIN II-III and SCC (*Student’s T-Test, P = 0.025, P = 0.014 and P = 0.000).
Fig 2.
The characteristics of miR-21 expression in cervicitis, CIN I, CIN II-III and SCC.
The level of transcriptional change was examined by qRT-PCR. HPV positive rates and miR-21 expression levels in relation to cytological stages. (*: significant difference from control at P<0.05)
Fig 3.
The localization of miR-21 in invasive cervical cancer tissues.
A and B: tissue sections from cervical cancer samples were incubated with DIG-labeled locked nuclei acid (LNA) probe to miR-21. Strong signals were observed in the stroma. The signal was also seen at the rim of cancer cells adjacent to the stroma (Bar: 100 μm). C: RNU6B staining in cervical cancer and stromal nuclei (Bar: 50 μm). D: cervical cancer negative control staining using a ‘scramble’ LNA probe (Bar: 50 μm).
Table 2.
Comparative expressions of miR-21 in the epithelial and stromal regions of 70 FFPE cervical tissues.
Fig 4.
The characteristics of stromal fibroblasts after treatment with culture media from HeLa cells (HeLa CM) and TGF-β1.
The level of transcriptional change was examined by real-time RT-PCR. A: the expression of miR-21 was significantly up-regulated at 24 and 48 h after HeLa CM or TGF-β1 treatment. B and C: the expression of IL-6 and alpha-SMA was significantly up-regulated at 48 h after HeLa CM or TGF-β1 treatment. D: PDCD4 was significantly down-regulated at 48 h after HeLa CM or TGF-β1 treatment. (*: significant differences from control at P<0.05)
Fig 5.
The morphology of fibroblasts treated with culture media from HeLa cells.
HeLa cells were cultured in exosome-depleted media. The treated cells were elongated.