Fig. 3.

Downregulation of miR-127-5p suppressed chondrogenic differentiation of rMSCs via SMAD-dependent BMP signaling. The rMSCs were transfected with an miR-127-5p inhibitor, followed by induction of chondrogenic differentiation for 7 and 14 days. A MiR-127-5p expression was determined by quantitative real-time PCR analysis. Results are expressed as mean ± standard deviation of data obtained from three independent experiments. ***p < 0.001, compared with control; ^###p < 0.001, compared with induction group; B Levels of COL1A1, COL2A1, SOX9, and ACAN protein expression were detected in rMSCs. C Images from Alcian blue staining assays of rMSCs. D Western blotting was performed to measure the levels of BMP2, p-SMAD1, and p-SMAD2 protein expression in rMSCs