Figure 1

Viability and proliferation of intervertebral disc cells cultured on modified silicone surfaces. (A) Representative images show living (green) and dead (red) cells, with quantification shown at right. (B) Representative immunofluorescence images of phosphohistone H3 stained cells (red) and 4′,6-diamidino-2-phenylindole (DAPI) nuclear stain (blue), with quantification shown at right. (C) Representative immunofluorescence images of cleaved caspase 3–stained cells (red) and DAPI nuclear stain (blue), with quantification shown at right. AF, Annulus fibrosus; NP, Nucleus pulposus. Scale bar: 200 μm. Error bars represent SEM. Three independent experiments were performed. Significance was calculated by Student’s t-test.