Fig. 4

Suppression of FUT10 expression inhibited TNF-α-induced expression of OA-related proteins, senescence and apoptosis. a Relative expression levels of 5 FUTs involved in the synthesis of α-1,3/6 fucosylation were compared between chondrocytes treated with or without TNF-α for 48 h (n=3). b Reanalyzed gene expression data from the published database (GES51588). This finding demonstrated that the transcription level of FUT10 was significantly upregulated in the medial and lateral tibia of OA patients compared with healthy controls. c The relative expression level of FUT10 in OA patients and normal controls was compared using qPCR (n=15). d FUT10 expression in cartilage from OA patients and normal controls was analyzed by western blot assay. β-Tubulin was used as an internal control (n=4). e The gray value of the protein band was measured and compared using a paired t test. f The mRNA level of FUT10 was significantly decreased in chondrocytes transfected with siRNA against FUT10 compared with those transfected with scramble siRNA (n=4). g After transfection, senescent cells in chondrocytes treated with or without TNF-α were revealed by SA-β-Gal staining; scale bar =20 μm. h The number of SA-β-Gal-positive cells was counted in 5 random fields. The data are presented as the mean ± SEM, *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, and ***p < 0.001. i After transfection, the chondrocytes were stimulated with TNF-α, and the number of apoptotic cells was determined via flow cytometry. j Representative immunoblot analysis of MMP-13, IL-1β, caspase-3/8, and total and phosphorylated IκB-α, p65, p38, and JNK in chondrocytes; β-tubulin was used as an internal control. k The relative expression levels of these proteins were obtained from three experimental replications and compared based on one-way ANOVA. l The relative mRNA level of MMP-9 and ADAMTS-4 was determined by qPCR and compared between groups using one-way ANOVA. *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, and ***p < 0.001