Fig. 1

Lycopene increases β-catenin, phErk and RUNX2 protein expression levels on Saos-2 cells. Semi-confluent cultures of human osteoblast-like cells (Saos-2) were incubated with lycopene 5 and 10 μM or vehicle THF in serum free medium for 24 h. mRNA expression levels of β-catenin (a) and RUNX2 (d) were measured by RT-Pcr. Data were analyzed using the 2-ΔΔCq method and normalized to β-actin. β-catenin and phERK1/2 protein expression is showed in panel b and c. b β-catenin and β-actin proteins were analyzed by Western blotting with specific antibodie. c PhERK1/2 and β-actin proteins were analyzed by Western blotting with specific antibodie. Data are represented as mean ± SD. Statistical analysis: Student’s t-test vs THF 10 μM *p < 0.05. THF tetrahydrofuran, RUNX2 Runt-related transcription factor 2