Fig. 1

TGF-β1 promotes the proliferation and ECM anabolism of PMCs. A CCK-8 assay was used to determinate the proliferative capacities of PMCs. PMCs were treated with 0, 1 or 5 ng/ml TGF-β1 for 0 h, 24 h, 48 h or 72 h, respectively. Each experiment was performed in triplicate (n = 3). B, C EdU assay verified the proliferation capacity of PMCs treated with 1 ng/ml TGF-β1 for 0 h, 12 h or 24 h (n = 3), ***p < 0.001, ****p < 0.0001, scale bar = 100 μm. D–H mRNA levels of Adamts4, Mmp13, Mmp3, Aggrecan and Col2a1 were detected by RT-qPCR in PMCs treated with 1 ng/ml TGF-β1 for 0 h, 12 h or 24 h (n = 3), ns p > 0.05, *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001, ****p < 0.0001. I–K Protein levels of Col2a1 and Mmp13 were analyzed using western blotting in PMCs treated with 1 ng/ml TGF-β1 for 0 h, 12 h or 24 h (n = 3). **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001