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. 2019 Dec 14;2019:9705929. doi: 10.1155/2019/9705929

Figure 6.

Figure 6

Inhibition of miR-140 intensified IL-1β-induced matrix degradation in human chondrocytes. Chondrocytes were treated with 5 ng/mL IL-1β and 100 μM melatonin (MT). To inhibit miR-140 expression, chondrocytes were transfected with miRNA-140 antagomir (antago miR-140), and cells that were transfected with negative control miRNA (antago miR-NC) served as a control. (a) The expression of miR-140 was decreased in antagomir-treated chondrocytes. (b–e) The mRNA levels of matrix-degrading enzyme genes, including ADAMTS4 (b), ADAMTS5 (c), MMP9 (d), and MMP13 (e), were quantified with real-time PCR using GAPDH for normalization. (f) Protein levels of matrix-degrading enzymes in melatonin-treated cells were determined using Western blot assays. Values are the mean ± S.E.M. of four independent experiments (n = 4) in PCR experiments and three independent experiments (n = 3) in Western blot assays. Statistically significant differences are indicated by # where p < 0.05 or ## where p < 0.01 vs. the CTRL group and ∗ where p < 0.05 or ∗∗ where p < 0.01 between the indicated groups.