Fig. 4

KLF15 is a downstream target of miR-152-3p in CC cells. A The reduced expression of KLF15 was found in cervical tumor tissues compared with adjacent tissues from CC patients by qRT-PCR (n = 20 in each group), **P < 0.01 versus adjacent tissues. B The reduced expression of KLF15 was shown in CC cells (C33A, SiHa and Hela) compared with normal cervical epithelial cell (Ect1/E6E7) by qRT-PCR. **P < 0.01 versus Ect1/E6E7 cells. C The expression of KLF15 in SiHa and Hela cells was reduced after treatment with miR-152-3p mimics compared with untreated control by qRT-PCR. **P < 0.01, ***P < 0.001 versus NC group. D The expression of KLF15 was reduced in animal tumor xenografts treated with miR-152-3p mimics compared with control. Representative images are shown for KLF15 expression in treated and control groups by IHC. The brown indicates positive staining while the blue indicates nuclei, scale bar: 20 μm. E The direct binding of miR-152-3p to the 3'-UTR region of KLF15 was shown by dual luciferase report assay. The significant difference was found between KLF15-WT and KLF15-MUT after miR-152-3p mimics treatments **P < 0.01 versus NC group. F RIP assay was shown the binding status between miR-152-3p and KLF15 in SiHa and Hela cells, confirming the miR-152-3p specifically binding KLF15. **P < 0.01 versus miR-152-3p mimics IgG group