Fig 2: Protein expression of COL6A1 in T-OPLL. Expression of COL6A1 protein in thoracic posterior longitudinal ligament specimens from patients with T-OPLL carrying the COL6A1 gene rs201153092A mutation was significantly higher than in those carrying the rs201153092G variant; ***P<0.001 vs. COL6A1-rs201153092G. COL6A1, collagen 6A1; T-OPLL, thoracic ossified posterior longitudinal ligament.

Fig 3: Expression levels of GFP-tagged COL6A1 and ALP proteins detected by western blot. The relative protein levels of COL6A1 and ALP in the COL6A1 gene mutation, non-mutation, control and mock groups. ***P<0.001 vs. COL6A1-rs201153092A. ALP, alkaline phosphatase; COL6A1, collagen 6A1; Ctrl, control.

Fig 4: IHC staining for COL6A1. (A) Patients with T-OPLL carrying the COL6A1 gene rs201153092A mutation. (B) Patients with T-OPLL possessing the rs201153092G variant. Scale bar, 250 µm. COL6A1, collagen 6A1; IHC, immunohistochemistry; T-OPLL, thoracic ossified posterior longitudinal ligament.

Fig 5: Flow cytometric sorting of the GFP-positive cells. After the 3T3-E1 cells were infected with the lentivirus, flow cytometry was used to detect the GFP-positive cells. COL6A1, collagen 6A1; SSC, side scatter.