Fig 6. The effects of 7E and MSCs on OA mice.

(A) Arthritis was surgically induced in 4 groups of mice (n = 5/group) on day 0. A fifth group of sham-operated mice were negative controls (n = 5). OA mice were given intra-articular injections of PBS, MSCs (5x10⁵/mouse/single injection), mIgG (2μg/mouse 3 times a week), or 7E (2μg/mouse 3 times a week) 14 days after surgery. Knee joint sections of the mice were stained with Safrainin O to analyze the effects of 7E and MSCs on destabilization of the medial meniscus (DMM) surgery-induced OA 42 days after treatment. Representative Safranin O stained images of cartilage sections are shown. (B) The severity of cartilage destruction was evaluated based on the scoring system using Safranin O images. Data are mean ± standard error of the mean (SEM) (n = 5 mice per group). *P < 0.05 versus mIgG-treated controls. (C-G) On day 56 after surgery, the knee joints from mice were collected, mRNA was isolated, and the IL-20, IL-1β, TNF-α, MMP-9, and MMP-13 transcripts were analyzed using RTQ-PCR with specific primers. The quantification analysis of mRNA was normalized; β-actin was the housekeeping gene. #P < 0.05 versus OA controls. *P < 0.05 versus mIgG-treated controls. Data are representative of three independent experiments.