Moderate Fluid Shear Stress Could Regulate the Cytoskeleton of Nucleus Pulposus and Surrounding Inflammatory Mediators by Activating the FAK-MEK5-ERK5-cFos-AP1 Signaling Pathway

Figure 2

(a, b) FAK-MEK5-ERK5-cFos-AP1 pathway-related protein expression obviously increased compared with that before loading. (a, c) The expression of type II collagen, aggrecan, Cytokeratin 8, MAP-1, MAP-2, and MAP-4 proteins noticeably decreased compared with that before loading. (a, d) The expression of inflammatory mediators around nucleus pulposus cells dramatically increased, including IL-1β, TNF-α, IL-6, IL-8, MIP-1, MCP-1, and NO. Repressed value <0.05, statistical significance was set to (bilateral). Experiments were repeated three times.

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