Fig. 8
Expression levels of collagen I (Col I), COX-2, iNOS and TNF-α in the discs (L4/5) of each group. (A) Immunohistochemical staining analysis revealed that compared with the other two methods, the modified model method increased inflammatory cytokine expression and the Col I composition in the extracellular matrix in the nucleus pulposus of bipedal rats. (B–E) Quantitative analysis of the positive areas of Col I, COX-2, iNOS and TNF-α in different groups based on the results of immunohistochemical staining; the values are the means ± SDs of at least 3 independent experiments. *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01, ***P < 0.001. Scale bars = 100 µm. Abbreviations: C, control; T, traditional; M, modified.
