Figure 1. Decreased APN expression in degenerated NP tissue and LPS-treated human NP cells. (A) Western blot was used to determine the protein levels of NLRP3, caspase-1 and GSDMD-N in normal and degenerated human NP tissue samples (n=10). (B) The qRT-PCR and western blot analyses of APN expression in normal and degenerated human NP tissue samples (n=10). (C) Human NP cells were treated with PBS or LPS for 12 h, followed by measurement of APN expression using qRT-PCR and western blot (n=3). Data are expressed as mean ± SD. **P < 0.01, ***P < 0.001.