Figure 2.

Effect of leptin on the expression of TGFβ, IGF-1, type 2 collagen, aggrecan, TIMP-2, COX-2 and MMP-13 in chondrocytes obtained from normal or overweight and obese OA patients. Normal or overweight osteoarthritis (OA) patients: body mass index (BMI) <30 kg/m²; n = 5 for 20 ng/ml and n = 8 for 100 and 500 ng/ml. Obese OA patients: BMI >30 kg/m²; n = 5 for 20 ng/ml, n = 11 for 100 ng/ml and n = 9 for 500 ng/ml. Quantitative real-time PCR analysis were performed 24 hours after exposure of chondrocytes to 20, 100 or 500 ng/ml of leptin. For every patient, experiments were carried out in triplicate and results were expressed as means ± standard error of the mean over control values. * P < 0.05 between leptin-treated and control chondrocytes. COX-2, cyclooxygenase-2; IGF-1, insulin growth factor-1; MMP, matrix metalloproteinase; TGFβ, transforming growth factor-β; TIMP, tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase.