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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2017 Jun 1.
Published in final edited form as: Biomaterials. 2016 Mar 23;92:57–70. doi: 10.1016/j.biomaterials.2016.03.034

Figure 4.

Figure 4

Effect of zone-specific growth factor (BMP-7 for superficial, IGF-1 for middle, and HA for calcified zone) on zone-specific chondrogenic expression of mRNA and biochemical markers for differentiating hMSCs. mRNA markers were SZP (a), Sox-9 (b), AGC (c), Col II (d), Col X (e), and ALP (f). Biochemical markers were total collagen (g), GAG (h), and ALP (i). hMSCs were encapsulated in L1 (red), L2 (blue), and L3 (green) gels simulating the superficial, middle, and calcified zones of articular cartilage, respectively, and cultured in chondrogenic medium with (solid lines) or without (dashed lines) the corresponding zone-specific growth factor. The pink, brown, and black diamonds show mRNA marker expression levels of hMSCs (day zero), chondrocytes, and pellet-cultured hMSCs (day 14), respectively, as controls. An asterisk represents a statistically significant difference (P<0.05) between the test group and all other groups for the given time point. The colored “+” sign represents a statistically significant (P<0.05) positive effect of the zone-specific growth factor on the zone corresponding to that color (red for superficial, blue for middle, and green for calcified) for all time points. The colored “−” sign represents a statistically significant (P<0.05) negative effect of the zone-specific growth factor on the specified zone for all time points. Error bars correspond to means ± 1 SD for n=3.