Tert-Butylhydroquinone Prevents Oxidative Stress-Mediated Apoptosis and Extracellular Matrix Degradation in Rat Chondrocytes

Figure 3

TBHQ prevented oxidative stress-induced mitochondrial damage. (a) Chondrocytes stained with JC-1 and observed under confocal microscopy (magnification: ×200, scalebar: 50 μm). JC-1 aggregates showed red fluorescence, representing normal membrane potential, while JC-1 monomers showed green fluorescence, representing mitochondrial membrane potential depolarization. Blue colour represents the Hoechst-stained cell nuclei. Merge represents a merge of green, red, and blue channels. (b-c) Mitochondrial membrane potential was quantified using flow cytometry. Treatment with 2.5 and 5 μM of TBHQ significantly increased the FITC/PE intensity ratio, compared to treatment with TBHP. This indicated that TBHQ protected rat chondrocytes from mitochondrial damage, induced by oxidative stress. .

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