Sulforaphane Delays Intervertebral Disc Degeneration by Alleviating Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress in Nucleus Pulposus Cells via Activating Nrf-2/HO-1

Figure 3

The protective effects of SFN in ameliorating ERS and reducing apoptosis in NPCs were abolished by the Nrf-2 inhibitor ML385. NPCs were cultured under 1% hypoxia to simulate the hypoxia environment of intervertebral disc in vivo. (a–c) WB was used to detect the expression of ERS-related proteins and apoptosis-related proteins, and the relative quantitative data (b, c) was calculated accordingly. (d, e) TUNEL staining was used to detect the apoptosis of NPCs, and the relative quantitative data was calculated accordingly. Scale  μm. (f, g) The apoptosis of NPCs was detected by flow cytometry. (Error bars showed ; ; , , , vs. control group; ^#, ^##, ^###, vs. AGEs group; ^@, ^@@, ^@@@, vs. AGEs+SFN group).

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