BAK1 and STAT3 are direct targets of miR-125b. (A) Western blotting of BAK1 in 32D/miR-ctrl and 32D/miR-125b cells. (B) Two predicted miR-125b target sites within the 3′UTR of Stat3 (NM_011486.4), their deleted derivates, and the miRNA/mRNA pairing regions. (C) Luciferase activity resulting from transfection of NIH3T3/miR-125b cells with reporter plasmids containing wild-type (wt-1 and wt-2) or mutated (mut-1 and mut-2) 3′UTR fragments of Stat3. Firefly luciferase luminescence, normalized to Renilla luciferase, is presented, (n = 5). (D) Western blotting of STAT3 in 32D/miR-ctrl and 32D/miR-125b cells. A representative experiment out of 4 is shown (except for panel C). *P < .05 compared with control.