Figure 4.

Advanced glycosylation end product (AGE) treatment and knockdown of AGE-specific receptor (AGER) can regulate Wnt pathway. Rat epidermal stem cells were isolated and cultured with AGE-modified bovine serum albumin (AGE-BSA) or BSA (as a control) treatment for 48 h, after which they were transfected with the specific small interfering RNA for Ager (si-AGER) or the control (si-control). qRT-PCR and Western blot were performed at 48 h post transfection. A. qRT-PCR shows that AGE and AGER regulate the mRNA level of Wnt pathway factors including Wnt family member 1 (Wnt1), Wnt family member 3a (Wnt3a), β-catenin (Ctnnb1), v-myc avian myelocytomatosis viral oncogene homolog (Myc), cyclin D1 (Ccnd1) and matrix metallopeptidase 7 (Mmp7). *P < 0.05 and **P < 0.01 compared to the BSA + si-control group. ##P < 0.01 compared to the AGE-BSA + si-AGER group. B. Western blot shows that AGE and AGER regulate the protein level of Wnt pathway factors. Glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH) is an internal reference.