Fig. 3.
IL-19 and IL-20 induced cytokine and chemokine expression in DLS disc cells. Primary disc cells isolated from DLS patients were incubated with IL-19 or IL-20 in CoCl2-mimicked hypoxia condition. The expression of cytokines and chemokines was then analyzed using real-time PCR with primers specific for (a) IL-1β, (b) IL-6, (c) IL-8, (d) TNF-α, (e) VEGF, and (f) MCP-1. The relative quantification of PCR products was expressed as 2−ΔΔCT, normalized using GAPDH expression and relative to the levels of PBS-treated disc cells, data statistics were done by one way ANOVA, * p < 0.05; **: p < 0.01; ***: p < 0.001