Fig. 3

Phenotypic characteristics of female and male primary chondrocytes isolated from osteoarthritic knees. Primary chondrocytes were isolated from minimally fibrillated or eroded cartilage surfaces. mRNAs for 1α,25(OH)₂D₃ (VDR (a) and PDIA3 (b)); estrogen receptors (ERα66 (c) and ERα36 (d)); interleukins (IL1A (e), IL1B (f), IL6 (g), IL8 (h), and IL10 (i)); and WNT signaling molecules (WNT3A (j), WNT5A (k), β-catenin [CTNNB] (l), DKK1 (m), and DKK2 (n)) were measured using real-time qPCR. Data are the mean levels from 6 males and 6 females. ^* p < 0.05 compared with minimal fibrillation; ^† p < 0.05 compared with male