Figure 2. Inhibition of miR-130b promotes chondrogenic differentiation of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) and chondrocyte growth. A, The transfection efficiency of miR-130b inhibitor was verified by RT-qPCR. B, Western blot analysis measured the expression of two cartilage markers in BMSCs. C, The synthesis of extracellular matrix during chondrogenesis of BMSCs was examined by toluidine blue staining (scale bar, 50 μm). D, MTT method was used to measure the viability of interleukin (IL)-1β-stimulated chondrocytes. E, IL-6 and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α expression in IL-1β-treated chondrocytes was determined by RT-qPCR. F, Levels of apoptosis-related proteins in IL-1β-treated chondrocytes were measured by western blot analysis. G, Apoptosis rate in IL-1β-treated chondrocytes was measured by TUNEL assay (scale bar, 50 �m). *P<0.05, compared to control; ^#P<0.05 compared to the NC inhibitor group. The data in panels A and B were analyzed using one-way ANOVA, and the data in panels D, E, F, and G were analyzed using two-way ANOVA. Experiments were repeated 3 times independently. NC: negative control.