FIGURE 3.

Effect of SPN on protein level of IL-1β-induced chondrocyte-specific gene degradation and cartilage matrix-degrading enzymes in rat chondrocytes. Chondrocytes were treated with different concentrations of SPN for 48 h, with or without IL-1β (5 ng/ml). The protein levels of chondrocyte-specific gene degradation and matrix-degrading enzymes were evaluated by Western blots (n = 5 per group). Significance was calculated by one-way ANOVA with post hoc Tukey’s multiple comparisons test. ^∗p < 0.05, ^∗∗p < 0.01, ^∗∗∗p < 0.001 versus the IL-1+SPN (0 μM) group. ^#p < 0.05, ^##p < 0.01, ^###p < 0.001 versus the NC group.