Fig. 4

Effect of OCT4A on the adipogenic differentiation of hDPSCs. A, B After 7, 14, and 21 days of adipogenic induction, LPS reduced the expression of the adipogenic-related genes PPARγ-2 and LPL compared with the unstimulated cells. Overexpression of OCT4A promoted the expression of these genes in both the LPS-stimulated and nonstimulated groups (A), while knockdown of OCT4A decreased their expression compared with the vector groups (B). C, D After adipogenic induction for 21 days, the protein expression of PPARγ-2 and LPL in each group showed a similar trend to their gene expression (C1 & D1: Representative bands of the protein expression of PPARγ-2 and LPL; C2&D2: Quantitative analysis results of western blotting; Full-length blots are presented in Additional file 4). E The lipid droplet formation of hDPSCs was observed by oil red O staining (× 200). The LPS inflammatory stimulus reduced lipid droplet formation. The number and size of the lipid droplets in hDPSCs with OCT4A overexpression were greater than those in the vector groups, while hDPSCs with OCT4A knockdown exhibited the opposite result. *: compared with the vector group, P < 0.05; **: compared with the vector group, P < 0.01; ***: compared with the vector group, P < 0.001; ∆: compared with the LPS stimulation group, P < 0.05; ∆∆: compared with the LPS stimulation group, P < 0.01; ∆∆∆: compared with the LPS stimulation group, P < 0.001