Fig. 7

CLI-095 abrogates soluble biglycan (sBGN)– and lipopolysaccharide (LPS)–induced Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) signalling with CLI-095 in primary chondrocytes. a Pre-incubation with CLI-095 before sBGN and LPS stimulation abrogated the increase in TLR4 messenger RNA (mRNA) expression. b A minor increase in catabolic factor mRNA expression occurred when primary chondrocytes were treated with CLI-095 before sBGN and LPS stimulation. c Blocking TLR4 signalling with CLI-095 inhibited the sBGN-induced upregulation of aggrecan (ACAN or ADAMTS) and collagen type II (COL2A1) before stimulation. d Production of nitric oxide is reduced by CLI-095 incubation before sBGN or LPS stimulation. All in vitro experiments were technically repeated at least four times with primary chondrocytes (obtained from one biological sample). Differences between mean values were compared using Student’s t test, assuming normal distribution where four replicates were used. ^# p < 0.05, ^## p < 0.01, ^### p < 0.001 for pairwise comparisons between CLI-095 pre-incubated and non-CLI-095 pre-incubated sBGN or LPS stimulation. CTSK cathepsin K, MMP matrix metalloproteinase