Figure 2 .

USP14 knockdown inhibits AF cell pyroptosis

AF cells collected from IVDD patients were transduced with shUSP14 or shNC, and the expression of USP14 was measured by quantitative RT-PCR (A) and western blot analysis (B,C). (D) Cell pyroptosis was assessed by flow cytometry. (E) LDH release. (F,H) The expressions of NLRP3, active Caspase-1 (p20), MMP3, ADAMTS-5 and Aggrecan were examined by western blot analysis. (G) The concentrations of IL-1β and IL-18 were determined by ELISA. *** P<0.001 compared with shNC.