Table 1.

Evaluation of IL-1β-, IL-4-, IL-6-, IL-10-, TNF-α-, MMP-13-, and lubricin-immunostaining. Intensity of staining (IS) was graded on a scale of 0–4, based on the following criteria: No detectable staining (0), weak staining (1), moderate staining (2), strong staining (3), and very strong staining (4). The percentage of immunopositive cells (Extent Score = ES) was independently evaluated by three investigators (two anatomical morphologists and one histologist) and ranked according to the following criterium: <5% (0); 5–30% (+); 31–50% (++); 51–75% (+++), and >75% (++++).

Group	IL-1β	IL-4	IL-6	IL-10	TNF-α	MMP-13	Lubricin
1	ES = 0 IS = 1	ES = + IS = 2	ES = + IS = 2	ES = ++ IS = 2	ES = 0 IS = 1	ES = 0 IS = 1	ES = +++ IS = 3
2	ES = 0 IS = 1	ES = ++ IS = 3	ES = + IS = 3	ES = +++ IS = 3	ES = 0 IS = 1	ES = 0 IS = 1	ES = ++++ IS = 4
3	ES = ++ IS = 2	ES = + IS = 1	ES = +++ IS = 4	ES = + IS = 1	ES = +++ IS = 3	ES = ++ IS = 3	ES = ++ IS = 2
4	ES = + IS = 1	ES = ++ IS = 3	ES = +++ IS = 4	ES = +++ IS = 3	ES = + IS = 1	ES = + IS = 1	ES = +++ IS = 3