Fig. 6

Silicate impaired microtubule stability via deacetylation of α-tubulin. a The structure of microtubules was evaluated with tubulin-tracker. As the concentration of silicate increased, the structure of the microtubules presented an obvious collapsed state with cell volume decrease and loss of bundle or reticular structure. b Western blot showed that acetylation of α-tubulin in BMSCs was decreased after exposure to silicate for 24 h (n = 4). c, d HDAC6, a specific enzyme responsible for regulating the acetylation process of α-tubulin, was evaluated via Western blot and HDAC6 activity assay (n = 4). The data indicated that the expression and activity of HDAC6 in the 1.5 mM and 3 mM silicate groups demonstrated a significant increase compared with that of the control group. (***p < 0.001)