Administration of N-Acetylcysteine to Regress the Fibrogenic and Proinflammatory Effects of Oxidative Stress in Hypertrophic Ligamentum Flavum Cells

Figure 3

The graphical scheme of the study. (a) The third passage of cultured LF cells after cell characterization was used in the study. The hypertrophied LF cells from LSS group and healthy ones from LDH group were exposed to H₂O₂, and the level of inflammatory factors (iNOS), fibrotic marker (α-SMA), and intracellular signaling (p-p38) before and after oxidative insult would be evaluated. (b) In hypertrophied LF cells, after 30 minutes or 24 hours of H₂O₂ treatment, the response to oxidative stress would be checked via quantifying the level of p-p38, p-p65, iNOS, TGF-β, vimentin, α-SMA, and collagen I as illustrated in the blue square and arrow. For the evaluation of the effect of antioxidant (NAC) to regress the response to oxidative stress, 30 minutes pretreatment with NAC would be finished before exposure to H₂O₂, and the expression of protein was quantified after NAC and H₂O₂ as illustrated in the green square and arrow.

(a)

(b)