Vitamin D Promotes MSC Osteogenic Differentiation Stimulating Cell Adhesion and αVβ3 Expression

Figure 1

Vit D induces a clustered localization of α_Vβ₃. Midsection confocal microscopy images show the expression of integrin α_Vβ₃ (green) in DBSCs differentiated for 3 and 7 days; (a-b) show that at 3 days, the integrin was distributed in multiple sites in the cells. After 7 days of differentiation, α_Vβ₃ is localized on the periphery of the cell where the focal adhesion sites are present (c-d). Vit D treatment seemed to produce a different integrin organization leading to the formation of typical strings particularly evident after 7 days of culture. Blue for nuclei, green for α_Vβ₃. The table shows the FA quantification performed with ImageJ software. The data is presented as average ± standard error. Number of FAs per cell = total number of FAs identified in one cell. Area of FA = area of a single FA.