Fig 9. Induction of C3 and CD55 gene expression in human chondrocytes treated with P. semirufa bristle extract.

Human chondrocytes (1 × 10⁵ cells/well, four wells per biological replicate) were treated with PBS buffer, IL-1β, or bristle extract (60 μg/mL) for 24 hours. After treatment, cells were collected, and total RNA was extracted using TRIzol. Relative mRNA quantification of C3 (A) and CD55 (B) was performed by RT-qPCR. All experiments were conducted in biological triplicates and technical duplicates, with values presented as the mean ± SEM normalized to GAPDH and RPL13A as endogenous controls. Data were analyzed using an unpaired t-test, with significance levels indicated as (**) p < 0.01.