Figure 3

miR-23a/b promotes the osteogenic differentiation of BMSCs. (a) qRT-PCR analysis showed the relative levels of miR-23a/b in BMSCs induced to differentiate into osteoblasts for 14 days. (b and c) Representative images of Alizarin Red staining (b) and the quantitative analysis of matrix mineralization (c) in BMSCs induced to differentiate into osteoblasts for 21 days after transfection. (d) ALP activity and osteocalcin secretion were measured in BMSCs induced to generate osteoblasts for 48 h. (e) qRT-PCR was used to analyze the relative expression levels of Osterix and Runx2 in BMSCs induced to differentiate into osteoblasts for 48 h. Scale bars: 100 μm. n=5 per group. Data are shown as the mean±s.d. *P<0.05, **P<0.01 (ANOVA). ANOVA, analysis of variance; BMSCs, bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells; qRT-PCR, quantitative reverse transcription PCR.