Fig. 2

Escherichia coli inhibits osteoblastogenesis. A The expression of universal, S. pneumoniae and E. coli 16S rRNA in healthy, newly diagnosed and complete remission myeloma patients bone marrow aspirates (n = 5). MSCs were cocultured with E. coli in osteoclast medium. Shown are representative images (B, C) and summarized results (D) of Alizarin red S staining, ALP activity (E), and the relative expression of osteoblast marker genes (BGLAP, ALP and COL1A1) genes (F). Scale bars, 7 mm (B) and 100 μm (C). Data are averages ± SD. Each experiment was repeated three times. **P < 0.01, ***P < 0.001; ****P < 0.0001. All P values were determined using one way ANOVA