Fig. 3

Effect of E2 on MMP-13 and miR-140 expression in IL-1β-stimulated chondrocytes. a Relative expression of MMP-13 in normal chondrocytes stimulated with IL-1β (5 ng/ml) for 4 hr, then treated with 10 nM E2 for 24 hr. b Relative expression of miR-140 in normal chondrocytes pretreated with IL-1β (5 ng/ml) for 4 hr, then treated with 10 nM E2 for 24 hr. c Immunofluorescence staining of MMP-13 expression in normal chondrocytes pretreated and untreated with IL-1β (5 ng/ml) for 4 hr, then treated with 10 nM E2 for 24 hr. Data are represented as mean ± SEM. ^* P < 0.05, ^** P < 0.001. Cont control, E2 17-β-estradiol, GAPDH glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase, IL-1β interleukin-1 beta, MMP-13 metalloproteinase 13