αKLOTHO and sTGFβR2 treatment counteract the osteoarthritic phenotype developed in a rat model

摘要

. (A) Representative Safranin-O images of knee joints (HC, = 8; OAC, = 8). Scale bars, 500 μm. (B) ACAN protein WB analysis. (C) gene expression analyzed by qPCR. (D) Representative images from immunostaining detection of SOX9, COLl2A, and ACAN in knee sections, and their respective quantification. Quantification was performed within an area of 400 × 500 µm along the cartilage area. Quantification performed using Fiji software: HC, = 3, COA, = 3. Scale bars, 200 μm. Only ACAN images include DAPI co-staining (blue). (E) Quantification of the condyle cartilage thickness of HC and OAC rats (HC, = 8; OAC; = 8). The thickness was determined by measuring the condyle cartilage at three different positions throughout the cartilage area. Quantification performed using Fiji software. (F) Joint OA grade in rats based on the OARSI scoring system (HC, = 8; OAC, = 8). Data is expressed as means, and each data point represents an individual rat. (G) cell death representative images (HC, = 3; OAC). Blue colored cells represent apoptotic cells. Scale bars, 20 μm. (H) Representative images from immunostaining detection MMP13 in knee sections (HC, = 3; OAC, = 3). Scale bars, 200 μm. Staining outside the nuclear marked by arrows. (I) Representative images from immunostaining detection of COL10A and RUNX2 in knee sections (HC, = 3; OAC, = 3). Scale bars, 200 μm. Only COL10A images include DAPI co-staining (blue). Brackets indicate the cartilage area with COL10A or RUNX2 positive cells. (J) Representative images from immunostaining detection of Ki67 and SOX9+ cells. (SHAM, = 3; KT, = 3). Scale bars, 20 μm. Two-tailed -test (unpaired) was used for statistical analysis of (C), (D), (E) and (F). * < 0.05, ** < 0.01, *** < 0.001, **** < 0.0001. Error bars represent ± standard error (SEM)