Research Paper Volume 15, Issue 23 pp 14457—14472

Figure 3. miR-203a-3p inhibited LPS-induced cartilage matrix degradation and apoptosis in chondrocytes. (A–C) Co-immunofluorescence staining of MMP13 (green) / Collagen II (red) and the relative quantification of positive cells in LPS-induced chondrocytes after transfection with miR-203a-3p mimic, inhibitor and consistent negative controls. (D–F) WB analysis and the relative quantification showing the expression levels of cartilage matrix degradation related proteins (MMP3, MMP13, ADAMST-5, Collagen II, SOX9 and Aggrecan). (G, H) TUNEL staining showing the chondrocyte apoptosis and quantitative estimation of the number of TUNEL positive cells. (I, J) WB analysis and the relative quantification showing the expression levels of apoptosis related proteins (Bcl-2, Bax, and Cleaved caspase-3). All experiments were performed in triplicated and data were presented as the mean±SD, n=3 per group. *P<0.05, **P<0.01.