Research Paper Volume 15, Issue 12 pp 5775—5797
Astaxanthin prevents osteoarthritis by blocking Rspo2-mediated Wnt/β-catenin signaling in chondrocytes and abolishing Rspo2-related inflammatory factors in macrophages
Figure 8. The effects of chondrocyte coculture on AMs. (A) AM indicates M1 macrophages cultured alone, AM+NC indicates coculture of M1 macrophages with normal chondrocytes (NC), AM+OAC indicates coculture of M1 macrophages with osteoarthritic chondrocytes, AM+AST indicates M1 macrophages with astaxanthin, AM+NC+AST indicates coculture of M1 macrophages with normal chondrocytes (NC) with astaxanthin, and OAC+AM+AST indicates coculture of osteoarthritic chondrocytes with M1 macrophages with astaxanthin. (B) qRT-PCR was used to detect the expression of IL-6, IL-1β, TNF-α, MMP-9, iNOS, and Rspo2 in macrophages. (C) ELISA was used to detect the expression levels of IL-6, IL-1β, TNF-α, and Rspo2 in macrophages of each group. (D) Flow cytometry was used to detect the expression of CD86 (CD86 is a special surface phenotype marker of M1 macrophages). The data are represented as the mean ± S.D. of three independent experiments (n = 3). ns: Not significant; *p < 0.05 vs AM group; **p < 0.01 vs AM group; ***p < 0.001 vs AM group; &p < 0.05 vs AM+NC group; &&&p < 0.001 vs AM+NC group; #p < 0.05 vs AM+OAC group; ##p < 0.01 vs AM+OAC group.