Figure 4.

mRNA expression of inflammation-related mediators and MMPs in rat primary tenocytes via CD44 blockage. A, expression of TNFα, IL-1β, IL-6, and COX-2 in OX-50–treated rat primary tenocytes for 6 h (TNFα and IL-1β) and 24 h (IL-6 and COX-2), as determined by qRT-PCR. Values are the mean ± S.E. (error bars) (n = 3). B, expression of MMP-1, -3, -9, and -13 in OX-50–treated rat primary tenocytes for 24 h, as determined by qRT-PCR. Values are the mean ± S.E. (n = 3). Results are representative of at least three independent experiments. See the legend to Fig. 3 for other definitions.