Figure 1

Gene expression profile of CD44⁺ versus CD44^- bovine NP cells. Fresh bovine NP cells were sorted for the expression of CD44 and analyzed for the gene expression of phenotypic markers. (A) Acquired cell sorting events were filtered based on: (i) size (FSC/SSC); (ii) symmetry for the removal of duplets (FSC-H/FSC-A); and (iii) viability (according to staining with viability dye). Filtered events were then separated into CD44⁺ and CD44^-, according to the fluorescence intensity for the APC channel, and considering the non-specific fluorescence displayed by the unstained population. (B) Total mRNA isolated from the sorted cells was translated to cDNA and analyzed by qRT-PCR for the expression of: CD14, LGALS3, FoxF1, IL-6, IL-8, VEGFA, ADAMTS5, MMP3, TIMP1, TIMP2, COL2A and ACAN (n = 4). Results are presented as box and whiskers plots with representation of median, min and max values (statistical significance, *p < 0.05).