Fig. 3

Chronic stimulation by Th cells triggers a glycolytic and pro-inflammatory phenotype in OASF. OASF were cultured for a total period of 18 days under four different conditions: The first group was cultured without stimulation (w/o stim). The second group was stimulated on d14 of culture (1st stim). The third group was first stimulated between d1 and d4, then remained unstimulated until a second stimulation on d14 (2nd stim). The fourth group was repeatedly stimulated between d1 and d12 and re-stimulated on d14 (chronic stim). On d18, the concentrations of lactate, IL-6 and MMP3 were quantified for all four groups (n = 7). Results are presented as the mean ± SEM. Statistical significances between the chronically stimulated group and the unstimulated, the singly stimulated and the re-stimulated group are shown. *p < 0.05, Wilcoxon signed-rank test