Figure 4.

The effect of SNP and/or S-Equol on expressions of apoptotic and anti-apoptotic proteins of primary chondrocytes. After cells were treated with S-Equol for 24 h in the presence or absence of SNP for another 24 h, (A) cytochrome c, caspase-9, and caspase-3 levels were measured by Western blotting. β-actin was used as the internal control. The data in the right panel are expressed as the relative density compared to the untreated cells (control), which was 100%; (B) caspase-9 and caspase-3 activity were measured by a colorimetric assay; (C) BIM, PUMA, NOXA, Bcl-X_L, BAK, and BAX protein levels were measured by Western blotting; and (D) BIM, PUMA, NOXA, Bcl-2, BAK, and BAX mRNA levels were measured by real-time PCR. β-actin was used as the internal control. The data are expressed as fold changes compared to that in untreated control, which was 100%. The results are the mean ± S.D. for three separate experiments. * p < 0.05 compared to the corresponding untreated control. # p < 0.05 compared to the corresponding SNP treated group.