Figure 2. Effects of microRNA (miR)-29b-3p on the proliferation of RMECs. A: Retinal microvascular endothelial cells (RMECs) were transiently transfected with 100 nmol/l of miR-29b-3p mimic (miR-29b-3p-mimic) or negative control (NC) mimic. Quantitative real-time PCR confirmed that the expression of miR-29b-3p was increased in the miR-29b-3p-mimic group compared with that of the NC group. B: At 48 h after transfection, cell viability was assessed with Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8) assays, and relative cell viability was calculated against the mock-transfected cells. RMECs transfected with miR-29b-3p-mimic showed statistically significantly decreased cell viability compared with that of the NC group. C, D: At 48 h after transfection, immunofluorescent staining of Ki67 revealed that the proportion of Ki67-positive cells was decreased by transfection with miR-29b-3p-mimic compared with that of the NC group. The relative cell proliferation rate was calculated against mock-transfected cells. E, F: At 72 h after transfection, western blotting showed that the protein expression of proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) was statistically significantly decreased by miR-29b-3p-mimic compared that of with the NC group. G–J: At 72 h after transfection, western blotting showed that the protein expression levels of cyclin A2, cyclin D1, and cyclin E1 were statistically significantly downregulated by miR-29b-3p-mimic compared those of with the NC group. U6 and β-tubulin were used as the internal controls for miR-29b-3p expression and western blotting, respectively. n=3 per group. *p<0.05.