Figure 2.

The PI3K inhibitor LY294002 reversed the effect of siUSP15 knockdown in degenerative NP cells. A, Morphology of degenerative NP cells transfected with siNC (control) or siUSP15‐1 (siUSP15‐2) with or without LY294002 treatment. B, The PI3K inhibitor LY294002 improved the apoptosis ratio of siUSP15‐1‐ and siUSP15‐2‐transfected cells. ***P < .001 DMSO. C, The relative protein levels of Bcl2, Bax, ACAN and collagen in siUSP15‐1‐ and siUSP15‐2‐transfected cells with or without LY294002 treatment. ***P < .001 vs siNC + DMSO; ###P < .001 vs siUSP15‐1 + DMSO. D, USP15 knockdown of significantly improved the phosphorylation of AKT and Foxo3a in degenerative NP cells. ***P < .001 vs siNC + DMSO; ###P < .001 vs siUSP15‐1 + DMSO