Figure 3.
17β-estradiol upregulated mitophagy to protect osteoblasts through G protein-coupled receptor 30 (GPR30) in MC3T3-E1 cells. Transmission electronmicroscopy (TEM) images show the presence of more mitochondrial autophagosomes following treatment with 10−8 M of 17β-estradiol for 48 h. The increased mitophagy was inhibited by G15 (1 h prior to 17β-estradiol treatment) and the activity of MC3T3-E1 cells was reduced followed by detection of damaged osteoblast cell membrane, and nuclear membrane. The arrows indicate autophagosomes.