Figure 7.

Schematic of the findings of this study. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) exposed to interleukin (IL)‐17 and osteocytes in coculture underwent differentiation along the osteogenic lineage, better than when exposed to either stimulus alone. IL‐17 induces the expression of inflammatory markers, IL‐6 and IL‐1β, which in turn, increase the expression of markers of osteoblastic differentiation in MSCs, such as alkaline phosphatase (ALP), runt‐related transcription factor 2 (RUNX2), osteocalcin (OCN) and collagen‐1 (COL‐1). The activation of extracellular signal‐regulated kinase 1/2 (ERK1/2), AKT, and signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) regulated IL‐17 induced osteogenesis in the MSC niche, which could be inhibited by antibodies of IL‐6 and IL‐1β