Fig. 3

CTGF mediates BMP2-induced upregulation of HAS2 expression and increases hyaluronan synthesis in SVOG cells. A-C SVOG cells were transfected with empty vector control (Vector) or CTGF overexpression vector (1 μg, CTGF) for 48 h. The mRNA levels of CTGF (A) and HAS2 (B) were examined using RT-qPCR, and the accumulated levels of hyaluronan were examined using ELISA (C). D-F, SVOG cells were transfected with control siRNA (siCtrl) or siRNA targeting CTGF (siCTGF) for 48 h, and then the cells were treated with Ctrl or BMP2 (50 ng/ml) for an additional 24 h. The protein levels of CTGF were examined using western blot analysis (D). The mRNA levels of HAS2 were examined using RT-qPCR (E). The accumulated levels of hyaluronan in conditioned medium were examined using ELISA (F). The results are expressed as the mean ± SEM of at least 3 independent experiments, and values without common letters are significantly different (P < 0.05)