Fig. 5
From: Strontium ranelate promotes chondrogenesis through inhibition of the Wnt/β-catenin pathway
The results of Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway analysis. a The PCR assays of Sox-9 (1), MMP-9 (2), aggrecan (3), and β-catenin (4). Data are presented as the mean±SD. *P< 0.05 versus the control. b The results of immunofluorescence staining of the Col-II protein. c, d show the results of WB assays. Sox-9 and aggrecan showed significantly higher expression and MMP-9 and β-catenin showed significantly lower expression in the SrR treatment group than in the control group. XAV-939 significantly stimulated the synthesis of Sox-9 and aggrecan, inhibited MMP-9 and β-catenin expression, and induced a similar trend when SrR was added. LiCl had the opposite effect: it downregulated Sox-9 and aggrecan expression and upregulated MMP-9 and β-catenin expression, and SrR could also reverse these effects. The results were similar at both the gene and protein levels