Fig. 8

Antagomir-146b-5p reverses the therapeutic effect of F-MSCs-Exo on osteoarthritis in rats. (A) Schematic diagram of the experiment evaluating whether miR-146b-5p is involved in the treatment of osteoarthritis in rats by F-MSCs-Exo. (B) Micro-CT 3D reconstruction of the rat knee joint was performed to visualize structural changes and alterations caused by Antagomir-146b-5p treatment. (C, D) Quantitative analysis of micro-CT results. (E, F) H-E staining and S-O staining of rat knee joint sections were conducted for histological examination, enabling the assessment of tissue morphology and cartilage integrity (scale bar = 500 μm). (G) The Osteoarthritis Research Society International (OARSI) score was used to evaluate the severity of osteoarthritis in rat cartilage, n = 6. (H to M) Immunohistochemical analysis was performed to visualize and quantify the expression levels of MMP-13, P62, and INOS in the rat knee joint after Antagomir-146b-5p treatment (scale bar = 100 μm). (ns, no significant difference; *p < 0.05; **p < 0.01; ***p < 0.001; n = 3)