Figure 3.

Knockdown of Angiopoietin‐like protein 8 (ANGPTL8) attenuated TNF‐α‐induced extracellular matrix (ECM) degradation and inflammation in human NP cells. (A), The human NP cells were transfected with si‐ANGPTL8 or the scrambled control (si‐NC), and the inhibitory efficiency was tested by qRT‐PCR. (B‐F) The human NP cells were treated with TNF‐α (50 ng/mL) except for the NC group. The mRNA expression level of ANGPTL8 (B), MMP3 (C), MMP9 (D), COL2A1 (E), IL‐6 (F) were measured after the NP cells were treated with siRNA. (G‐L), Western blot analysis and the quantitative statistical analysis showed the protein expression level of ANGPTL8 (H), MMP3 (I), MMP9 (J), COL2A1 (K), IL‐6 (L) in diffferent groups. GAPDH was used as an internal control. Data were presented as the mean ± SD (n = 3). *P < 0.05 vs NC group, ^# P < 0.05 vs TNF‐α group. (M), Representative images of ANGPTL8 expression were showed by immunofluorescence analysis. Magnification: 400×. (N), Representative images of MMP3, MMP9, COL2A1 and IL‐6 protein expression were detected by immunofluorescence staining. Magnification: 400×