Figure 1.

Chondrocytes produce IL-7 in response to stimulation with fibronectin fragments. Human articular chondrocytes obtained from normal articular cartilage and cultured in serum-free media were treated overnight with 500 nmol/l of the 110 kDa fibronectin fragment (FN-f). Media was collected and analyzed for cytokine production using (a) an inflammation antibody array or (b) an IL-7 ELISA. Results are representative of three experiments for each result with different donor cells used in each experiment. The IL-7 spots on the array are shown in the red circles. (Other spots that were shown to change after fibronectin fragment stimulation included IL-6, soluble IL-6 receptor [sIL-6R], interferon-inducible protein [IP]-10, and monocyte chemotactic protein [MCP]-1.)