Fig. 5

Intraarticular administration of mepazine protects osteoarthritis in mice. A OA was induced in knee tissues of mice by performing DMM surgery in 10–12-week-old C57WT mice, followed by intraarticular injection of mepazine (n = 8 mice per group), administered immediately and thereafter weekly twice post-DMM surgery at a dosage of 10 mg/kg body weight of mice in 20 μl volume. The knee tissues were collected at 8 weeks post DMM and they were fixed in formalin or frozen. The formalin-fixed sections were decalcified and stained with Safranin O fast green. The images represent data from 8 mice per group (Scale bar- 50 µM). B, C The sections were graded by 2 blinded observers according to OARSI guidelines and the OARSI score (B), and synovitis score (C) were presented. Data represent mean ± SD of 3 independent experiments, a total of 8 animals in a group. ***P < .001. D-H The frozen cartilage tissues were homogenized in the RIPA buffer containing protease inhibitors and indomethacin (1 mg/mL), and centrifuged at 10,000g at 4°C to remove tissue debris. The supernatants were collected. The cytokines such as TNFα (D), IL-6 (E), and MCP-1 (F), and eicosanoids PGE₂ (G) and LTB₄ (H) were analyzed by ELISA. Data represent mean ± SD of 2 independent experiments, a total of 8 animals in a group. ***P < .001