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

Figure 5

Immunohistochemical analysis of IL-1β, IL-6 and TNF-α. (a) Representative IHC images of IL-1β staining. (b) Semiquantitative analysis of IL-1β. (c) Representative IHC images of IL-6 staining. (d) Semiquantitative analysis of IL-6. (e) Representative IHC images of TNF-α staining. (f) Semiquantitative analysis of TNF-α. The expression levels of the inflammatory factors IL-1β, IL-6, and TNF-α were significantly higher in the IDD group than in the control group. However, treatment with 10 or 20 mg/kg STS significantly inhibited IL-1β, IL-6, and TNF-α levels in comparison, indicating that STS suppresses the expression levels of inflammatory factors in the IDD model. All images were acquired at 400x magnification. IL: interleukin; TNF: tumor necrosis factor; 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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