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. 2020 Oct 19;18:162. doi: 10.1186/s12964-020-00656-0

Fig. 5.

Fig. 5

Role of sensory neurons in osteogenic differentiation and vascular remodelling. SNs enhance the osteogenic differentiation of MSCs through the upregulation of genes such as Runx2 (runt-related transcription factor 2), Sp7 (osterix) or Bglap (osteocalcin) [according to Silva et al., 2017 [46]]. Through the secretion of CGRP and SP, SNs also play a role in vascular remodeling by upregulating the expression of some angiogenic markers in ECs. More specifically, they strongly upregulate the expression of Mmp2 as well as MMP2/MMP9 protein level and enzymatic activity, suggesting a role in angiogenesis through extracellular matrix remodeling. Besides, ECs are known to have an osteoinductive effect on MSC through the release of bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs) [according to Grellier et al., 2009 [2]], thus the interplay between these three cell types should be considered for the development of bone regeneration strategies