Expression of apoptotic and autophagy-related proteins in the cartilage of the rat KOA model. (A and C) Expression of apoptotic proteins FADD, p-FADD, pro-CASP3 and cleaved CASP3 in the cartilage. (B and D) Expression of autophagy-related proteins BECN1 and LC3B in the cartilage. *P<0.05 vs. C group; **P<0.01 vs. C group; #P<0.05 vs. KOA group. KOA, knee osteoarthritis; SMS, Si-Miao-San; FADD, FAS-associated death domain; p-, phosphorylated; CASP3, caspase-3; BECN1, beclin 1; LC3B, microtubule-associated protein 1 light chain 3 β.