Fig. 6

Knockdown of miR-338-3p inhibited IL-1β-induced CHON-001 cell damage by regulating SOX9 expression. A The transfection efficiency of SOX9 overexpression vector was assessed by western blot analysis; B–F IL-1β-treated CHON-001 cells were transfected with anti-NC, anti-miR-338-3p, anti-miR-338-3p + si-NC or anti-miR-338-3p + si-SOX9; CCK-8 assay (B), EDU assay (C), and flow cytometry analysis assay (D) were used to examine cell viability, proliferation, and apoptosis of cells; E, F The protein levels of proliferation-related PCNA, apoptosis-related pro-caspase-3 and cleaved caspase-3 and ECM-related protein (MMP13, ADAMTS5, COL2A1, and Aggrecan) were detected by western blot analysis. **P < 0.01, ***P < 0.001