Fig. 5

The protective effect of CEFFE in murine primary chondrocytes. A, B Original images and CCK8 results of murine primary chondrocytes treated with CEFFE, with or without IL-1β and TNF-α. CEFFE promoted the proliferation of murine primary chondrocytes regardless of IL-1β and TNF-α. C Quantification of SOX9 mRNA expression by qRT-PCR. D Quantification of ADAMTS-5 mRNA expression by qRT-PCR. E Quantification of IL-6 mRNA expression by qRT-PCR. Scale bars are noted on the right bottom corner of each picture. Data represent the mean ± SD (n = 3 per group). *p < 0.05; **p < 0.01; ns, no significant difference between groups