Research Article

Sodium Tanshinone IIA Sulfonate Ameliorates Injury-Induced Oxidative Stress and Intervertebral Disc Degeneration in Rats by Inhibiting p38 MAPK Signaling Pathway

Figure 3

Immunohistochemical analysis of COL2 and aggrecan. (a) Representative IHC images of COL2 staining. (b) Semiquantitative analysis of COL2. (c) Representative images of aggrecan staining. (d) Semiquantitative analysis of aggrecan. Compared with the control group, IDD rats exhibited ECM with significantly less COL2 and aggrecan expression levels. This decrease was significantly restored by STS treatment indicating that STS ameliorated IDD by inhibition of ECM degradation. All images were acquired at 400x magnification. COL2: collagen II; IDD: intervertebral disc degeneration; STS10/20: 10/20 mg/kg sodium tanshinone IIA sulfonate; and compared with the IDD group ( per group).
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