Acupuncture Delays Cartilage Degeneration through Upregulating SIRT1 Expression in Rats with Osteoarthritis

Figure 3

Acupuncture inhibited OA-associated inflammation, the NF-κB signaling pathway, and ECM degradation through upregulating SIRT1 expression in rat articular cartilages. (a/b): The levels of TNF-α and IL-2 in the serum of acupuncture-treated OA rats injected with or without shSIRT1 lentiviruses were assessed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. (c/d/e/f/g/h): The expressions of SIRT1, MMP-9, ADAMTS5, p-p65/p65, p-IκBα/IκBα, collagen II, and aggrecan in the articular cartilage of acupuncture-treated OA rats injected with or without shSIRT1 lentiviruses were analyzed by western blot, with GAPHD serving as a reference gene. ^∧or ^‡ < 0.05; or ^∧∧ or ^## or ^‡‡ < 0.01; or ^^^ or ^### or ^‡‡‡ < 0.001; vs. Sham; ∧ vs. Model + shNC; # vs. Model + Acupuncture + shNC; ‡ vs. Model + shSIRT1 (OA: Osteoarthritis; TNF-α: Tumor necrosis factor-α; IL-2: interleukin-2; shNC: shRNA-negative control; MMP-9: matrix metallopeptidase-9; SIRT1: NAD-dependent deacetylase sirtuin-1; ADAMTS5: a disintegrin and metalloproteinase with thrombospondin motifs 5).

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