Fig. 7
Sildenafil promoted osteogenic differentiation of hBMSCs by activating the TGF-β signaling pathway. A. ALP staining revealing the effects of sildenafil and the TGF-β pathway inhibitor SB431542 on the osteogenic differentiation of hBMSCs; B. ARS staining revealing the effects of sildenafil and the TGF-β pathway inhibitor SB431542 on the osteogenic differentiation of hBMSCs; C. Quantification of ALP staining; D. Quantification of ARS staining; E. The relative levels of mRNAs encoding RUNX2 and ALP in hBMSCs as revealed by qRT-PCR after 7 days of osteogenic induction; F. The relative levels of mRNAs encoding RUNX2 and BGLAP in hBMSCs after 14 days of osteogenic induction. The data are means ± standard deviations. *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, and ***p < 0.001. hBMSCs, human bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells; ALP, alkaline phosphatase; ARS, alizarin red S; RUNX2, runt-related transcription factor 2; BGLAP, bone gamma-carboxyglutamate protein; qRT-PCR, quantitative real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction; OM, osteogenic medium; TGF-β, transforming growth factor-β