Fig. 1

miR-342-5p increases and Wnt3a decreases in aortic tissues of ApoE^−/− mice and miR-342-5p directly targets Wnt3a. A Expression of miR-342-5p in aortic tissue of mice detected by RT-qPCR. B Expression of Wnt3a mRNA in aortic tissue of mice detected by RT-qPCR (n = 12). C, D Wnt3a and β-catenin protein expression in aortic tissues of mice tested by Western blot analysis (n = 12). E Binding site of miR-342-5p within Wnt3a 3′-UTR. F miR-342-5p agomir dose-dependently decreased the relative activity in cells transfected with Wnt3a 3′-UTR (N = 3). G Relative activity of luciferase in cells with wild-type and mutant Wnt3a 3′-UTR after transfected with miR-342-5p agomir or scramble (N = 3). *P < 0.05 vs. the normal group, ^#P < 0.05 vs. the NC group. & P < 0.05 vs. the miR-342-5p agomir group. Measurement data were indicated as mean ± standard deviation. Comparisons between two groups were formulated by t-test, while comparisons among multiple groups were assessed by one-way ANOVA followed by Tukey’s multiple comparisons test. AS, atherosclerosis; NC, negative control