Figure 3 SNHG15 serves as a ceRNA for miR-18a to mediate THBS2 expression. (A, B) Sub-cellular localization of SNHG15 in N2a cells was determined by a RT-qPCR (A) and a FISH assay (B). (C, D) Binding relationships between miR-18a and SNHG15 (C), and between miR-18a and the 3′-UTR of CXCL13 mRNA (D) were predicted on Starbase (http://starbase.sysu.edu.cn/) and validated through dual-luciferase reporter gene assay. (E) Contents of total ERK/MEK and phosphorylated ERK/MEK in N2a cells was quantified by ELISA kits. F, phosphorylation of ERK1/2 and MEK1/2 was determined by Western blot analysis. Data were shown as mean±SD based on 3 independent experiments. * p<0.05. In panels A and F, data were analyzed using two-way ANOVA, while data in panels C–E were analyzed using one-way ANOVA, and Tukey’s multiple comparison test was used for post hoc analysis.