Fig. 4

Leptin secretion and leptin receptor (Ob-R) and glucocorticoid-induced leucine zipper (GILZ) expression were dose-dependent. a, b Human osteoarthritis (OA) synovial fibroblasts were stimulated for 5 days with increasing concentrations of a glucocorticoid (prednisolone) or mineralocorticoid (aldosterone). Leptin secretion was measured in the cell culture supernatants by ELISA, and leptin messenger RNA (mRNA) expression was measured by RT-qPCR. Graphs represent mean +/- SD (n = 4 or 5 patients). Significance was set at p < 0.05. b*Significantly different from a; c not significantly different from a; e*significantly different from d; f not significantly different from d. c Human OA synovial fibroblasts were stimulated for 5 days with increasing concentrations of a glucocorticoid (prednisolone) or mineralocorticoid (aldosterone). Ob-R, GILZ and glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH) expression in whole-cell extracts were analyzed by western blotting. Right panels, quantification results of western blots shown in the left panels. Protein levels were normalized to GAPDH. Graphs represent mean +/- SD (n = 3 patients). Significance was set at p < 0.05. h*Significantly different from g; i not significantly different from g