Flurbiprofen gel suppressed local inflammatory response of OA rats. (A) IL-1, IL-6, and IL-11 oriented ELISA assay performed on the pooled joint fluids collected from the normal rats (Normal), the OA rats without treatment (Untreated) and the OA rats 72 hours after the last drug-free gel (Gel), HA, flurbiprofen, or flurbiprofen gel treatment. #p < .05 in comparison with the data of normal, untreated, gel, and HA groups; *p < .01 in comparison with the data of other experimental groups. (B) Western blotting demonstration and gray density quantification of IL-1, IL-6, IL-11, COX-2, TNF-α, and NF-κB/p65 expression patterns in the articular cartilages of normal rats (N) and OA rats without treatment (–) or treated by intra-articular injection of HA (HA), flurbiprofen (F), or flurbiprofen gel (F-gel). The samples were collected 72 hours after the last treatment.