Figure 5.

Al₂O₃ particles reduce the osteogenic activity through WNT/β-catenin signaling pathway. (A) The Axin-2 reporter construct was transfected to MC3T3-E1 cells, and a luciferase assay was performed. The Axin-2 activity was reduced time-dependently in Al₂O₃ particles-treated cells. (B) Protein expression levels of pSer9-GSK-3β and stabilization of β-catenin were determined by Western blotting, and both decreased in Al₂O₃ particles-treated cells. Data are shown as the mean ± SD. Three independent experiments were performed to obtain similar results * p < 0.05, ** p < 0.01 compared to the control.