Figure 2.

Effects of cytokines on the expression of prostaglandin E synthase (PGES) and cyclooxygenase (COX) isoenzyme mRNAs in chondrocytes. (a) Chondrocytes from patients with osteoarthritis were incubated with interleukin (IL)-1β (1 ng/ml), tumour necrosis factor (TNFα; 10 ng/ml), IL-4 (10 ng/ml), IL-6 (10 ng/ml), IL-8 (10 ng/ml), IL-10 (10 ng/ml), or interferon-γ (IFNγ; 100 ng/ml) for 12 h. Total RNA from the cells was subjected to reverse transcription–polymerase chain reaction (RT–PCR) for membrane-associated PGES (mPGES)-1, COX-2, and glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH), as described in Materials and methods. Representative results from three patients are shown here. (b) Chondrocytes from four patients with osteoarthritis were incubated with IL-1β (1 ng/ml) or TNF-α (10 ng/ml) for 12 h. Total RNA from the cells was subjected to RT–PCR for mPGES-1, mPGES-2, cytosolic PGES (cPGES), COX-1, COX-2, and GAPDH, as described in Materials and methods. Representative results are shown here.