Fig. 3.

BRD4 overexpression reversed the inhibitory effect of TAF15 knockdown on IL-1β-induced chondrocyte apoptosis and ECM degradation. (A–B) BRD4 expression level in IL-1β-treated chondrocytes following oe-NC or oe-BRD4 transfection was assessed by qRT-PCR and Western blot. Both TAF15 knockdown and BRD4 overexpression were induced in IL-1β-treated human chondrocytes (C) Chondrocyte viability was examined by CCK8 assay (D) TUNEL staining was conducted to analyze chondrocyte apoptosis (E–F) Western blot was employed to assess Bax, Bcl-2, MMP13, ADAMTS5, Collagen II and Aggrecan protein levels in cells. Data were expressed as mean ± SD. All data were obtained from three independent experiments. ∗p < 0.05, ∗∗p < 0.01, ∗∗∗p < 0.001.