Figure 7.

Effects of synovial fluids (SFs) from patients with osteoarthritis (OA) or with a loose prosthesis on the mRNA expressions of alkaline phosphatase (ALP) and osteocalcin in neonatal mouse calvarial bones. (a) Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analysis of alkaline phosphatase mRNA in mouse calvarial bones stimulated by SFs from either patients with OA or patients with a loose prosthesis. (b) Quantitative real-time PCR analysis of osteocalcin mRNA in mouse calvarial bones stimulated by SFs from either patients with OA or patients with a loose prosthesis. Calvarial bones were incubated for 48 hours with SFs (10%) from seven OA patients and with SFs (10%) from seven patients with a loose prosthesis, and the effects were compared to those in two unstimulated bones (controls = 100%). At the end of the experiments, RNA was extracted and the mRNA expressions were analysed with quantitative real-time PCR. The mRNA expression of the gene of interest was expressed in relation to that of β-actin, used as a housekeeping gene. Data shown for the SFs represent the values obtained by the different SFs in individual bones. Asterisks denote a statistically significant (p < 0.01) effect between the averages of SFs from patients with OA and those from patients with a loose prosthesis.