Fig. 7

CD146 controls hMSC-DP proliferation and immune modulation through ERK pathway. a Western blot analysis showed the expression level of ERK pathway in DPSCs and SHED at P5, P10 and P20 under SE or SF culture conditions. b ERK pathway was downregulated by siCD146 treatment in hMSC-DP, as shown by western blot analysis. c The expression level of p-ERK was inhibited by ERK pathway inhibitor PD98059. d EdU staining showed the proliferation rate of hMSC-DP was reduced after treatment with PD98059. n = 3 for each group. e After co-culturing PD98059 treated hMSC-DP with T cells, the percentage of apoptotic T cells was decreased, as shown by flow cytometry. n = 3 for each group. f, g Osteogenesis of hMSC-DP was examined after PD98059 treatment, as assessed by the percentage of alizarin red staining (f) and western blot analysis of osteogenic markers (g). n = 3 for each group. SE, serum; SF, serum-free. Data shown as mean ± SEM. *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001. ns not significant