Figure 1

Aquaporin expressions in fibrocartilage and aged cartilage from osteoarthritis patients. (a) knee arthroscopy (left) and knee joint images during total knee replacement (right). Picture is a representative of independent image. Knee articular cartilage, the white or yellowish tissue that covers the ends of bones was harvested during arthroscopic surgery or total knee replacement, and used for total RNA and protein extraction, respectively. (b) Expressions of aquaporin (AQP)1, -3 and -4 mRNA between isolated hyaline cartilage and fibrocartilage (n = 12). Hyaline cartilage and fibrocartilage is defined as a normal intact cartilage apart from damaged area and a cartilage recovered from traumatic injury or degenerative tears over time, respectively. (c) Expression of AQP1, -3 and -4 mRNA in different aged cartilage tissues. All the cartilage tissues of 30 s (n = 12) and 50 s-aged (n = 14) patients were obtained by knee arthroscopy, and 70 s-aged (n = 14) cartilage tissues were acquired during total knee replacement. (d) Western blot analyses for AQP1, -3 and -4 protein expression between intact hyaline cartilage and fibrocartilage (n = 6 per group). Densitometric analyses of the western blots are shown on the right. (e) AQP1, -3 and -4 protein expression in different aged cartilage tissues (n = 3 per group). Densitometric analyses of the western blots are shown on the right. Data represent means ± standard errors of the means. *P < 0.05.