Figure 5

Tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNFα)-mediated suppression of adipogenesis was not reversed by modulation of the nuclear factor-kappa-B (NF-κB) pathway. Negative controls consisted of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) cultured in complete expansion medium. Positive controls represent MSCs stimulated to undergo adipogenesis, MSCs transduced with AdsrIκB before differentiation (AdsrIκB), and MSCs differentiated in the presence of curcumin at a concentration of 25 μM (CQ 25). The suppression of adipogenesis by TNFα was statistically significant in (A) BALB/c MSCs compared with controls. Transduction of MSCs with AdsrIκB or addition of curcumin at 10 μM or 25 μM to culture medium (CQ 10, CQ 25) had no effect on differentiation and did not reverse the effect of TNFα. The reduction of adipogenesis in BALB/c MSCs by TNFα and the lack of effect of inhibition of the NF-κB pathway were also demonstrated by Oil Red O staining (B). Data shown are mean absorbance of extracted Oil Red O ± standard error of the mean of triplicate experiments. *P <0.05 (two-way analysis of variance).