Modified levels of aggrecan, collagen II and collagen I concentrations in NP and AF tissues of APOE-knockout rabbits.

NP and AF tissues were isolated from APOE-knockout and wild-type rabbits and total protein was extracted from constant dry weight tissues. The concentration of each matrix protein in total protein extract [ng/μg] was determined using ELISA. Decreased concentration levels of aggrecan and collagen II were confirmed in NP and AF tissues of APOE-knockout rabbits (KO-NP and KO-AF), but increased level of collagen I was determined in KO-AF as compared with the respective values in NP and AF tissues of wild-type rabbits (WT-NP and WT-AF) (p < 0.0001). In both KO-NP and WT-NP collagen I was not detectable. Three independent ELISA were performed in duplicate for each sample and significance was set at p < 0.05.