Fig. 6.

Effect of reference gene selection on ACAN and MMP3 mRNA levels in cartilage explants either subjected to a [A–D] 5 MPa load (4 Hz, 15 min; N = 6, analysed 24 h post-cessation of load) or a [E–H] 8 MPa load (1 Hz, 15 min; N = 3, analysed 24 h post-cessation of load) using either SDHA, RPL4 and YWHAZ [A, C] or HPRT, RPL4 and YWHAZ [E, G] identified as most stable, or GAPDH and HPRT [B, D] or GAPDH and PPIA [F, H], identified as the least stable reference genes. Data is presented as mean relative fold change ±95% confidence interval normalised to the indicated reference genes and further normalised to the unloaded control explants; statistical analysis was performed using the Student's t-test or Mann–Whitney non-parametric test and statistical significance is indicated.