Figure 1. Induction of osteoblast-related mRNAs in vitro. MSCs were transduced with Ad-LacZ or Ad-Runx2 at a titer of 300 pfu/cell. Cells were harvested at the times indicated. Total RNA was extracted and analyzed for expression of Runx2 (A), ALP (B), BSP (C), and OCN (D) mRNAs, by means of quantitative real-time PCR, as described in MATERIALS & METHODS. All mRNA levels are expressed relative to levels of GAPDH mRNA, which remained constant throughout the experiment. Data are means ± SD of 3 independent samples.