Table 3.

Summary of results.

Characteristics of a healthy phenotype	Moderate			Severe
	TGFβ3+Dex	CTGF	Link-N	TGFβ3+Dex	CTGF	Link-N
Proliferative capability	++	++	++	+	−	−
High metabolic rate	++	++	++	++	−	−
GAG rich matrix	++	++	++	++	++	++
High ACAN/COL2A1 ratio	++	++	++	+	−	−
Low MMP9 expression	−	+	+	−	++	++
Low Il1β expression	−	+	+	−	++	++
TGFβR1 expression	++	++	++	+	−	−

Qualitative grading: ++ highest increase, + moderate increase, − negligible increase or smallest effect

Italics indicates no differences were observed between groups.

indicates an assay where a negligible increase or small effect demonstrates an effective stimulus.