Figure 2.

Osteogenic differentiation of human bone marrow stromal cells is impaired by iron excess and increased by iron chelation. (A) Bone marrow stromal cells were obtained from healthy donors (hBMSCs) and differentiated towards osteoblasts in the presence of 5 μM iron chloride (Fe) and 25 μM deferoxamine (DFO). Mineralization was determined using alizarin red S staining and subsequent elution and quantification. (B–C) Quantitative gene expression analysis of Runx2 and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) after treating day 10 differentiated cells with Fe (5 μM) or DFO (25 μM) for an additional 48 hours. N=4. *P<0.05 vs. control (CO).