Fig 1.
The time course of the experiment.
Ex: exercise, OA: osteoarthritis, Sed: sedentary.
Table 1.
Arrangement of synthetic gene-specific primers.
Fig 2.
Changes in the PPT of the right knee joint over 12 wks.
Data are mean ± SD. *p<0.05 vs. the Sed + Sham group. #p<0.05 vs. the Sed + OA group. Ex: exercise, OA: osteoarthritis, Sed: sedentary.
Fig 3.
Cartilage and subchondral bone degeneration scores at 7 and 12 wks after the start of the experiment.
A: a, b and c; Representative toluidine blue staining of each group at 7 wks after the start of experiment. In b and c, Black arrowheads indicate the decrease of the staining of cartilage matrix in the superficial layer of articular cartilage. Scale bar, 50 μm. d, e, f, g, h, I, j, k and l; At 12 wks after the start of the experiment: black arrowheads indicate cracks in articular cartilage, and white arrowheads indicate compensatory cartilage hyperplasia (second from left, middle and bottom). Scale bar, 100 μm. B: OARSI cartilage degeneration score at 7 wks after the start of the experiment. C: OARSI cartilage degeneration score at 12 wks. D: OARSI subchondral bone degeneration score at 12 wks. Data are mean ± SD. *p<0.05 vs. the Sed + Sham group. #p<0.05 vs. the Sed + OA group. Ex: exercise, OA: osteoarthritis, Sed: sedentary.
Fig 4.
Immunohistochemical findings (A) and the number of CD68- (B, E), CD11c- (C), and CD206- (D) positive cells in synovium of the right knee joint at 7 and 12 wks after the start of the experiment.
(A) Representative immunohistochemical staining for CD68 (left), CD11c (2nd from left) and CD206 (2nd from right) in synovium at 7 wks after the start of the experiment, Scale, 50 μm. CD68 (right) at 12 wks. Scale bar, 25 μm. Data are mean ± SD. *p<bar 0.05 vs. the Sed + Sham group. #p<0.05 vs. the Sed + OA group. The number of CD68- (B), CD11b- (C), and CD206- (D) positive cells in synovium in each group at 7 wks. The number of CD68 I positive cells in synovium in each group at 12 wks. Data are mean ± SD. *p<0.05 vs. the Sed + Sham group. #p<0.05 vs. the Sed + OA group. Ex: exercise, OA: osteoarthritis, Sed: sedentary.
Fig 5.
Changes of IL-4 mRNA, IL-10 mRNA, and IL-1β mRNA after 6 wks of daily treadmill walking and 7 wks after the start of the experiment.
The expressions of IL-4 mRNA (A) and IL-10 mRNA (B) in the infrapatellar fat pad and synovium at 6 wks after the start of the experiment, and the expressions of IL-4 mRNA (C) and IL-10 mRNA (D) at 7 wks. E: The expression of IL-1β mRNA at 7 wks. Data are mean ± SD. *p<0.05 vs. the non-Ex group. #p<0.05 vs. the Sed + OA group. Ex: exercise, OA: osteoarthritis, Sed: sedentary.