Fig. 2

Confirmation of chondrogenic differentiation of hBMSC chondrogenic pellets. a mRNA expression of COL2, SOX9, COL10, RUNX2, and CBFB at days 0, 7, 14, and 21, as well as in control chondrocytes (chon) as measured by RT-qPCR. *P < 0.05, **P < 0.001. b Western blot analysis of expression of COL2, SOX9, COL10, RUNX2, and CBFB in hBMSC-derived cartilage pellets on 0, 7, 14, and 21 days. c Semi-quantification of western blot data. *P < 0.05, **P < 0.001. d IHC for COL2, SOX9, and COL10 in cartilage pellets on 7, 14, and 21 days. Scale bar = 50 μm. e Optical density for COL2, SOX9, and COL10 was evaluated by ImageJ software, and the data represented the expression levels of COL2, SOX9, and COL10. *P < 0.05, **P < 0.001