Cav1-mediated signaling pathway was involved in CTS-induced inflammatory responses of AFCs. (A, B) Efficiency of Cav1-specific siRNA in AFCs. (C) qPCR analyses of relative expression of pro-inflammatory genes (Cox2, Tnfa, Il1b and Il6) in AFCs subjected to 12% CTS and transfected with or without Cav1-siRNA. (D, E) Protein level of p-p65 changed in AFCs transfected with pEX4-Cav1 plasmids. (F) Immunofluorescence images of Cav1 (red), p65 (green) and DAPI (blue) in AFCs transfected with pEX4-Vector or pEX4-Cav1 plasmids. (G) qPCR analyses of relative expression of pro-inflammatory genes (Cox2, Tnfa, Il1b and Il6) in AFCs of Ctrl, IL-1β, IL-1β+5% CTS, Vector+IL-1β+5% CTS and Cav1+ IL-1β+5% CTS groups, respectively. The error bars indicate SD. N = 3.