Research Paper Volume 12, Issue 12 pp 11732—11753
Chemerin facilitates intervertebral disc degeneration via TLR4 and CMKLR1 and activation of NF-kB signaling pathway
Figure 3. Effect of chemerin on anabolism, and catabolism of ECM in human NPCs. (A) The expression levels of aggrecan, collagen II, MMP3, MMP9, and ADAMTS5 were visualized by western blotting. (B) Quantification of Aggrecan, collagen II, MMP3, MMP9, and ADAMTS5 immunoblots. (C, D) The expression levels of collagen II, aggrecan, and MMP-13B were observed by immunofluorescence, and (E–G) the fluorescence intensity analyzed using Image J. (H) The mRNA expression levels of aggrecan, SOX-9, MMP3, ADAMTS5, and collagen II in NPCs were evaluated by RT-PCR. Data are represented as mean ± SEM of three independent experiments, each done in triplicate. Significant differences between groups are indicated as **p < 0.01, *p < 0.05.