TABLE 3.

Primers employed in gene expression analysis with RT-qPCR.

Gene	Denotation	Characteristics	Forward primer	Reverse primer
ACAN	Aggrecan	ECM component	TCSGAGGACA GCSGAGGCC	TCSGAGGGTGTA GCGTGTASGAGA
Col1	Collagen type I	Dedifferentiation	AGGTGCTGA TGGCTCTCCT	GGACCACTTT CACCCTTGT
Col2	Collagen type II	ECM component	CCACGCTCAA GTCCCTCAAC	AGTCACCGCT CTTCCACTCG
B2M	Beta micro-globulin 2	Housekeeping gene	ACTGAATTCA CCCCCACTGA	CCTCCATGAT GCTGCTTACA