SAC promotes nucleus translocation of Nrf2 and activates the Nrf2/HO1 signaling pathway. (A) Representative immunofluorescence images show Nrf2 expression in the chondrocytes treated with or without SAC for 24 h and 50 μM TBHP for 2 h. The nuclei were stained with DAPI. Scale bar: 20 μm. (B) QRT-PCR analysis shows the HO1 mRNA levels in chondrocytes treated with or without SAC for 24 h and 50 μM TBHP for 2 h. (C) Representative western blot images and (D) Histogram plots show the levels of Nrf2 in the nuclei of chondrocytes treated with or without SAC for 24 h and 50 μM TBHP for 2 h. (E) Representative western blot images and (F) Histogram plots show the Nrf2 and HO1 protein levels in chondrocytes treated with or without SAC for 24 h and 50 μM TBHP for 2 h. Note: The data are presented as the means ± SD of three independent experiments. *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, and ***p < 0.001.