Figure 3
Phenotypic markers in Nucleus pulposus cells. Analysis of the expression levels of transcripts coding for the phenotypic markers (A) type II collagen, (B) Aggrecan, (C) type I collagen, (D) MMP-13, (E) BMP-2, (F) MGP and (G) p21 in Nucleus pulposus (NP) cells from IVD of rabbits with increasing ages. Messenger RNAs were purified from freshly isolated NP cells and analyzed by real-time PCR as described in the materials and methods section. Results are reported as fold change in gene expression related to one month old rabbits. *: p < 0.05 as compared to one-month-old rabbits; #: p < 0.05 as compared to six-month old rabbits.