Fig. 3

Knockdown of piRNA hsa_piR_019949 leads to a decrease in the anabolic metabolism and increase in the catabolic metabolism of chondrocytes. A The study investigated the effect of inhibiting hsa_piR_019949 on chondrocytes. B The expression of hsa_piR_019949 in chondrocytes was examined after transfection with an inhibitor. Cell proliferation was assessed using CCK-8 assays. C The ability of chondrocytes to form clones was evaluated through crystal violet staining. D The number of clones formed by chondrocytes was quantitatively analyzed. E The apoptosis of chondrocytes transfected with the inhibitor was measured using flow cytometry, F specifically looking at the percentage of normal cells. G The quantification of cartilage extracellular matrix was determined using safranine O staining. The protein expression of collagen II (H) and MMP13 (J) in chondrocytes transfected with hsa_piR_019949 mimics was detected through immunofluorescence staining. The mRNA expression of collagen II (I) and MMP13 (K) in chondrocytes transfected with hsa_piR_019949 mimics was detected using RT-qPCR. Statistically significant differences are indicated by *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01. n = 3/group