Fig. 8

Honokiol inhibited NF-κB pathway in hUC-MSCs in a time-dependent manner. 2nd passage hUC-MSCs were cultured in pellets with chondrogenic medium, cells were treated with IL-1β (10 ng/ml) and honokiol (25 μM). At 1st day, 3rd day, 7th day and 14th day, the expression of (a): p-IKKα/β, (b): p-p65, (c): p-IκBα were evaluated by western blot. Integrated density values were analyzed by ImageJ and normalized to β-actin, all results were presented as mean ± SD (n = 9); p* < 0.01 versus control; p# < 0.01 versus IL-1β alone (10 ng/ml IL-1β without honokiol)