Endothelial miR-125a/let-7e axis suppresses IL-6-induced adhesion of monocytes to ECs and regulates the development of vasculogenic mimicry in MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells in a paracrine manner. (A) IL-6 recombinant protein (100 ng/ml) increases adhesion of monocytes to HUVECs and miR-125a/let-7e overexpression suppresses IL-6-induced adhesion of monocytes to HUVECs. (B) Development of vasculogenic mimicry in response to IL-6 recombinant protein (100 ng/ml) or IL-6 knockdown in MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells. (C) Development of vascular mimicry of MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells induced by cisplatin treated EC conditioned medium (CM) with concurrent overexpression of miR-125a and let-7e. *P < 0.05, ***P < 0.001 compared to controls. Scale bar, 200 μm. Error bars, s.e.m.
