Chondrocyte proliferation and apoptosis analysis. (A) Rabbit chondrocyte proliferation was detected by the MTT method <i>in vitro</i>.

<p>The data are shown as the mean ±S.D. a, b, c and d show cell proliferation in each group compared with p<0.05. (B-C) Rabbit chondrocyte apoptosis was detected by an Annexin V-FITC assay. The total number of apoptotic cells was determined by calculating the sum of the early apoptotic cells (Annexin V-FITC +/PI-) and the late apoptotic cells (Annexin V-FITC+/PI+) detected by flow cytometry (6C); the data are shown as the mean ±S.D. a, b, c and d show the chondrocyte apoptosis rate in each group compared with p<0.05 (6B).