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Fig. 3 | Arthritis Research & Therapy

Fig. 3

From: Ipriflavone attenuates the degeneration of cartilage by blocking the Indian hedgehog pathway

Fig. 3

Ipriflavone reduced the degeneration of cartilage by inhibiting Ihh signaling in cultured human cartilage explants. a Safranin O staining results showed that cartilage samples were taken from “relatively normal” cartilage samples of the tibia obtained during total knee arthroplasty (Mankin score 0–2). Then, the cartilage samples were cut into 4-mm3 pieces weighing 6–9 mg each and randomly subdivided into three groups: 0.1% DMSO group, 50 μM IP treatment group, and 100 μM IP treatment group. b Real-time PCR results showed that the mRNA expression of key genes in Ihh pathway, Smo, Gli-1,Gli-2,Gli-3, and Runx-2 was decreased in the IP treatment group, especially the reduction of Gli-2. Simultaneously, the mRNA levels of type II collagen was increased while MMP-13 and type X collagen were decreased in both IP treatment groups. c Western blotting results indicated that the expression of key proteins in Ihh signaling (Smo and Runx-2) were decreased in the IP treatment groups compared with the DMSO control group. MMP-13 and type X collagen protein were also reduced, while the expression of type II collagen protein was increased compared with the DMSO control group. Values are the mean ± SEM. n = 3, *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01 versus the DMSO and IP treatment group

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