Figure 3.

Effect of EGCG on BMP-4-induced expression of OPG mRNA in MC3T3-E1 cells. Cultured cells were pretreated with 10 µM EGCG or vehicle for 60 min, then stimulated with 30 ng/ml BMP-4 or vehicle for 6 h. Total RNA was isolated and quantified using reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction. Data are presented as the mean ± standard error of the mean of three replicate experiments from three independent cell preparations *P<0.05 vs. control cells and **P<0.05 vs. cells stimulated by BMP-4 and pretreated with vehicle. EGCG, (−)-epigallocatechin gallate; BMP-4, bone morphogenic protein-4; OPG, osteoprotegrin.