Fig. 1.

17β-estradiol (E₂) activated Notch signaling in hBMSCs in a ligand-dependent manner. Expression level of key Notch signaling molecules was analyzed in hBMSCs from postmenopausal osteoporosis patients after 17β-Estradiol and ICI Treatment (a). Notch1, Jagged1, and Hes1 genes were evaluated in a time course assay by real-time PCR (b–d) and Western blotting (e) in the progress of osteoblastic differentiation. Role of 17β-estradiol on activation of imperfect EREs in the 5′-Flanking region of Notch1 and of Jagged1 was assessed by luciferase assay. ** p < 0.01, compared to the control (f). All results were representative of three independent experiments. Results are statistically valid