Fig. 6

Anti-arthritic drugs suppressed mRNA levels of MMP3 (a) and MMP13 (b) and decreasing MMP13 protein levels (c). The chondrocytes were pre-treated with 0.5 μg/mL LPS for 2 h, after which they were treated with various concentrations of DIA (diacerein; 2.5–10 μM), DEX (dexamethasone; 5–20 nM), INDO (indomethacin; 2.5–10 μM), and ETORI (etoricoxib; 2.5–10 μM) for 24 h. mRNA levels were then assessed by real-time RT-PCR. Results are presented as mean ± SEM. * signifies statistical significance compared with control (*p < 0.05), whereas # signifies statistical significance in relation to the cytokines treatment group (#p < 0.05)