FIGURE 2.

Modulation of Wnt pathway in the absence of endogenous FGF2. A–C, compared with Fgf2^+/+ BMSCs, Fgf2^−/− BMSCs displayed reduced Wnt10b mRNA (A) and protein expression (B) and Lrp6 mRNA expression (C). D and E, β-catenin mRNA (D) and β-catenin protein expression (E) were also markedly reduced in Fgf2^−/− BMSCs. A–E, freshly isolated BMSCs were cultured in α-MEM/10% FBS for 9 days, then in α-MEM/10% FBS with 50 μg/μl ascorbic acid and 8 mm β-glycerophosphate for another 8 days, followed by total RNA extraction for gene analysis by qPCR, normalized to GAPDH or whole cell extracts for β-catenin protein analysis by Western blotting. A, C, and D, data are mean ± S.E. of four independent experiments using 8-month-old male mice. B and E, representative images of three experiments using 8-month-old male mice are shown.