Figure 3.

Expression of cartilage-specific markers, quantification of protein and gene expression, and mechanical properties in different groups of TSs. (a-c) COL-II and (d-f) Aggrecan immunostaining in the sagittal and cross-sectional views of TSs in different groups after the 3-week culture. (g) sGAG content measurement by DMMB assay, which was normalized to DNA amount (n=3, *p < 0.05). (h) COL-II synthesis from TSs with normalization to DNA amount (n=3, *p < 0.05). (i) Real-time PCR analysis of TSs demonstrating expression of cartilage-specific genes including COL2A1, Sox9, COL1 and Aggrecan in different groups (n=3, **p < 0.01, and ***p < 0.001). (j) Mechanical analysis of three types of TSs over the 3-week incubation period, including Young’s modulus, ultimate tensile stress and failure strain (n=3, ***p < 0.001).