Figure 6.

SMSC-EV-Packaged miR-31 Suppresses Knee OA through the KDM2A/E2F1/PTTG1 Axis In Vivo

(A) Safranin O and fast green staining (×200) of knee joint specimens of mice treated with EVs or EVs from miR-31 mimic-transfected SMSCs. (B) Statistical analysis of chondrocyte counts in a randomly selected high-power field of view. (C) Statistical analysis of OARSI score in mice treated with EVs or EVs from miR-31 mimic-transfected SMSCs. (D) miR-31 expression was determined by qRT-PCR in tissues of OA mice treated with EVs or EVs from miR-31 mimic-transfected SMSCs. (E) Representative western blots of KDM2A, E2F1, and PTTG1 proteins in tissues of OA mice treated with EVs or EVs from miR-31 mimic-transfected SMSCs. (F) Quantitation of KDM2A, E2F1, and PTTG1 proteins. (G) The concentrations of IL-1β, IL-6, and TNF-α were determined by ELISA in synovial fluid of OA mice treated with EVs or EVs from miR-31 mimic-transfected SMSCs. ∗p < 0.05 compared with the sham-operated mice; #p < 0.05 compared with OA mice treated with EVs. Data are shown as mean ± standard deviation of three technical replicates. Data comparison was performed using one-way ANOVA with Tukey’s post hoc test. n = 10 for mice following each treatment.