Fig. 5
mRNA sequencing analysis of mCPCs from paired grade 1–2 and grade 3–4 OA cartilage. a Cluster of significantly changed genes according to various biological processes, cellular components, and molecular function. b The differentially expressed genes were showed in the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathways. c Histogram showing levels of mean log2 fold change in 19 selected relative genes associated with OA pathogenesis in mCPCs from paired grade 3–4 versus grade 1–2 cartilage (n = 6 donors). d Validation of CXCL6, CXCL1, HGF, and LAMA5 mRNA expression by real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction; the 2−△Ct value was normalized to β-actin (n = 6 donors, with each repeated in triplicates). *p < 0.05, by paired t test