Fig. 6

HIF1α and Smad7 are implicated in the enhancing effects of celastrol on hTSC self-renewal and differentiation. a Colony number, colony size, and proliferation of hTSCs in the absence (control) or presence of 2 μM celastrol, plus HIF1α knockdown and Smad7 overexpression, respectively. b At day 14 after differentiation induction in the absence (control) or presence of 2 μM celastrol, plus HIF1α knockdown and Smad7 overexpression, the extent of adipogenesis, chondrogenesis, and osteogenesis was evaluated by Oil Red O, Alcian Blue, and Alizarin Red S staining assays, respectively. c At day 14 after differentiation induction in the absence (control) or presence of 2 μM celastrol, plus HIF1α knockdown and Smad7 overexpression, the extent of adipogenesis, chondrogenesis, and osteogenesis were evaluated by mRNA levels of the adipogenic marker PPARγ, the chondrogenic marker Sox9 and the osteogenic marker Runx2. Data are shown as mean ± SD. Student’s t test was utilized for pairwise comparison. *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, versus control. ns not significant