Altered lineage commitment of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells in idiopathic osteonecrosis of the femoral head

Figure 2 Osteogenic differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells derived from osteoarthritis and osteonecrosis of the femoral head patients. Images shown on the right are representative of 6 independent samples in each group [osteoarthritis (OA), n = 6; osteonecrosis of the femoral head (ONFH), n = 6]. Identical cell confluence was verified prior to perform Alizarin Red or Oil Red stainings. Despite reduced osteogenic marker expression, ONFH MSCs showed increased Alizarin Red signal, consistent with a paradoxical mineralization phenotype Graphs display the mean ± SEM for each group Statistical significance is indicated by P values in the graphs. A: Expression of the different osteogenic markers analyzed along osteogenic differentiation; B: At day 20 of osteogenic induction, gene expression levels of RUNX2, ALPL, COL1A1, and BGLAP were quantified by quantitative polymerase chain reaction (ONFH, n = 10; OA, n = 10); C: ALPL gene expression and enzymatic activity assessed at day 20 under osteogenic conditions to confirm early differentiation events (ONFH, n = 6; OA, n = 6); D: Mineralization capacity was evaluated by measuring the intensity of Alizarin Red staining after 20 days of induction. OA: Osteoarthritis; ONFH: Osteonecrosis of the femoral head. Created with BioRender.com.