Research Article

MCC950, the NLRP3 Inhibitor, Protects against Cartilage Degradation in a Mouse Model of Osteoarthritis

Figure 4

Regulation of autophagy by MCC950. (a, b) Western blotting results and quantification analysis of autophagy-related protein expression, including Atg5, Atg12, Beclin-1, and LC3I/II in chondrocytes treated with IL-1β with or without MCC950. # vs. control group; vs. IL-1β group. (c, d) Autophagy detection of chondrocytes transfected with the mRFP-GFP-LC3 adenovirus. Autophagosomes were represented by yellow puncta and autolysosomes by red puncta in merged images. # vs. control group; and vs. IL-1β group. Scale bar: 50 μm. (e, f) Western blotting results and quantification analysis of inflammatory mediators and matrix-degrading enzymes in chondrocytes treated with or without 3-MA (5 mM) before treatment with MCC950 or IL-1β. # vs. control group; vs. IL-1β group.
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