FIG. 5.

SMAD3 knockdown resulted in reduced GAG deposition, quantified by biochemical assays. Dot plots representing the following: (A) Total GAG production as quantified by DMMB assay, (B) Double-stranded DNA production as quantified by PicoGreen assay, (C) GAG normalized to DNA amount. Points represent independent specimen; bars represent geometric means for each group. Differential GAG deposition was observed in culture of scaffold pairs. SMAD3 knockdown with RUNX2 overexpression resulted in reduced GAG accumulation in the extracellular matrix of virally transduced scaffolds (p < 0.001), n = 3. Points represent independent specimen. Bars represent geometric means for each group. Red dots represent scaffolds seeded with NT cells; orange squares represent scaffolds seeded with virally transduced cells. Two-tailed paired t tests for scaffold pairs in the same group (α = 0.05). Color images available online at www.liebertpub.com/tea