Fig. 3. Wedelolactone promotes the chondrogenic differentiation of MSCs by activating the FOXO pathway. (A) Scatter plot of the quantitation proteomics analysis showing differently expressed proteins in the chondrogenic pellet differentiated from human iPSC-derived MSCs treated with DMSO or wedelolactone. (B) The Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes enrichment analysis of differentially expressed proteins in the chondrogenic pellet differentiated from human iPSC-derived MSCs treated with DMSO or wedelolactone. (C) Heatmap of the quantitation proteomics analysis showing differently expressed proteins associated with FOXO signaling. (D) Gene expression analysis of FOXO1 after induction with different concentrations of wedelolactone. (E) Immunofluorescence staining of FOXO1 in the cartilage defect model after wedelolactone intervention. Scale bar=100 μm. Relative fluorescence intensity was used to quantify the expression of FOXO1. (F) Alcian blue and toluidine blue staining images of the chondrogenic differentiation of human iPSC-derived MSCs after different interventions. Quantification of the mean intensity of alcian blue and toluidine blue staining. (G) Gene expression analysis of the chondrogenic differentiation markers (COL2A1, SOX9, and ACAN) after FOXO1 knockdown. Data are expressed as the mean±SD (n=3). Statistical differences were analyzed by one-way ANOVA followed by Dunnett’s test: *p<0.05, **p<0.01, ***p<0.001.

International Journal of Stem Cells 2023;16:326-41 https://doi.org/10.15283/ijsc22046

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