Icariin Augments Bone Formation and Reverses the Phenotypes of Osteoprotegerin-Deficient Mice through the Activation of Wnt/β-Catenin-BMP Signaling

Figure 4

Icariin stimulated osteoblast differentiation in OPG-deficient mice. Total RNA was extracted from the fifth lumbar vertebrae (L5) and qPCR analyses were performed. Data were expressed as mean ± SD, 𝑛=3. Compared to the vehicle control, Icariin significantly increased the expression of osteoblast-specific marker genes such as BMP2 (a), BMP4 (b), RUNX2 (c), and OC (d) of OPG KO mice. Compared to the vehicle control, Icariin significantly increased the expression of Wnt1 (e) and Wnt3a (f) in OPG KO mice. Icariin also significantly upregulated the expression of AXIN2 (g), DKK1 (h), TCF1 (i), and LEF1 (j), which are the direct target genes of β-catenin signaling. ^∗𝑃<0.05, unpaired Student’s t-test (OPG KO + VEH group versus WT + VEH group) and ^∗∗𝑃<0.05, unpaired Student’s t-test (OPG KO + Icariin group versus OPG KO + VEH group).

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