FIGURE 2.

Scutellarin retained cell metabolism and alleviated degeneration of primary HNPCs. (A–D) HNPCs were treated with or without TNF-α (10 ng/ml) in the absence or presence of scutellarin (1 μM) for 24 h. Then, total RNA from each group was extracted, and the transcriptional expression of Aggrecan, Col-2, ADAMTS-5, and MMP-13 was measured by real-time PCR. (E–I) HNPCs were cultured with PBS, TNF-α (10 ng/ml), TNF-α (10 ng/ml) +scutellarin (1 μM) for 48 h. The protein expression levels of Aggrecan, Col-2, ADAMTS-5, and MMP-13 were assayed by Western blotting. (J–M) After culturing as indicated for 48 h, immunofluorescence staining was performed to examine the protein levels of Col-2 and MMP-13 (scale bar: 100 μm). Each experiment was performed three times independently. (*p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001).