Research Article

Metformin-Induced MicroRNA-34a-3p Downregulation Alleviates Senescence in Human Dental Pulp Stem Cells by Targeting CAB39 through the AMPK/mTOR Signaling Pathway

Figure 6

Metformin-induced miR-34a-3p downregulation suppresses senescence in DPSCs through the AMPK/mTOR signaling pathway. Aging DPSCs were transfected with miR-34a-3p mimics or miR-NC for 48 h and treated with 100 μM metformin for 48 h. (a) SA-β-gal staining to determine senescence. Representative images are shown (scale bar: 20 μm). (b) Quantitative analysis of SA-β-gal-positive cell rates. (c) Representative blots and (d) quantitative analysis of the expression levels of p53, p21, and p16 in aging DPSCs. (e) Representative blots of the expression levels of p-AMPK, AMPK, p-mTOR, and mTOR in aging DPSCs. (f) Quantitative analysis of p-AMPK/AMPK and p-mTOR/mTOR ratios. Data are expressed as (). , , with comparisons indicated by lines.
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