FIGURE 9.

ACVs from rapamycin-treated and control chondrocytes contain autophagosome markers, characteristic ecto-enzymes, and RNA. A, protein isolates from ACVs formed in the absence (lane 1) and presence (lane 2) of rapamycin were run in Western blots with anti-LC3 antibody. B, enzyme levels on ACVs from chondrocytes treated with or without rapamycin. NTPPPH, alkaline phosphatase, and 5′ nucleotidase specific activities were measured on ACVs isolated from untreated and rapamycin-treated chondrocytes (n = 3). There were no differences in enzyme specific activity levels between groups. C, RNA was isolated from ACVs derived from chondrocytes treated with or without rapamycin and run on an agarose gel.