Fig. 6

MET is a downstream target of miR-34b-5p. a Schematic illustration showing seven potential target genes of miR-34b-5p as predicted by the RNA22, Starbase, Targetscan, and mirDIP databases and the overlap with GSE98601. b-c qRT-PCR verified the expression of the predicted target genes in PANC-1 and BxPC-3 cells stably transfected with sh-circBFAR#2 and control shRNA. d Image showing the secondary structure of circBFAR and the possible binding sites with miR-34b-5p. e Matching sequence of miR-34b-5p with circBFAR and the 3′ UTR of MET. f The luciferase activities of the MET 3′ UTR luciferase reporter vector (WT or mut) were measured after transfection with miR-34b-5p mimics or mimic NC into PANC-1 cells. g Western blotting analysis protein levels of MET, Akt, and p-Akt (Ser 473) after transfection with miR-34-5p mimics or an inhibitor in PANC-1 and BxPC-3 cells. GAPDH was used as a loading control. h Western blotting analysis protein levels of MET, Akt, and p-Akt (Ser 473) after knocking down circBFAR in PANC-1 and BxPC-3 cells. GAPDH was used as a loading control. Statistical significance was assessed using two-tailed t-tests for two group comparison, and one-way ANOVA followed by Dunnett’s tests for multiple comparison. The error bars represent the standard deviations of three independent experiments. **P < 0.01