Research Paper Volume 13, Issue 22 pp 24829—24849
Bone morphogenetic protein 9 enhances osteogenic and angiogenic responses of human amniotic mesenchymal stem cells cocultured with umbilical vein endothelial cells through the PI3K/AKT/m-TOR signaling pathway
Figure 7. Molecular mechanism and signaling pathways underlying BMP9 enhanced osteogenesis and angiogenesis in cocultured hAMSCs with HUVECs. ELISA was adopted to detect the effect of BMP9 that regulates protein expression of VEGF in cocultured hAMSCs and HUVECs (A); Western blot and quantification analysis were used to determine the expression of p-Smad1/5/8, Smad1/5/8, p-PI3K, PI3K, p-AKT, AKT, and mTOR in each group as shown at 5 d after transfection. The results suggested that BMP9 enhanced osteogenesis and angiogenesis of cocultured hAMSCs and HUVECs by activating the BMP/Smad and PI3K/AKT/m-TOR signaling pathways through upregulating the level of phosphorylation of Smad1/5/8 and of PI3K, AKT, and protein expression of m-TOR (B–F) (*P < 0.05).