Fig. 4

Over-expression of TIMP-3 inhibits the degradation of collagen in chondrocytes of OA. a RT-qPCR used to detect the mRNA expression of TIMP-3 in OA cartilage tissues and normal cartilage tissues determined by RT-qPCR. b, c The protein expression of TIMP-3 in OA cartilage tissues and normal cartilage tissues determined by Western blot analysis. d The mRNA expression of TIMP-3 in cells transfected with pCMV6-AC-GFP-TIMP-3 plasmids determined by RT-qPCR. e, f The mRNA expression of TIMP-3 in cells transfected with pCMV6-AC-GFP-TIMP-3 plasmids determined by Western blot analysis. g, h The expression of related proteins (MMP-3, MMP-13, ADAMTS-4, ADAMTS-5, and type II collagen) determined by Western blot analysis; & p < 0.05 vs. the normal group (normal cartilage tissue); * p < 0.05 vs. the oe-NC group (cells transfected with pCMV6-AC-GFP); the measurement data were expressed as the mean ± standard deviation, which were analyzed by the independent sample t test; the experiment was repeated three times to obtain the mean value; OA cartilage tissue (n = 15); normal cartilage tissue (n = 7)