Tenocytes were isolated from patients with rotator cuff tears and pre-incubated with TNF-α (10 ng/ml), DEXA (1 µM), or both of them for 10 min, 1 h, and 2 h. Expression of p65, p50, and p52 in the nuclei and cytosol was analyzed by western blotting and immunofluorescence imaging using confocal microscopy.