ABSTRACT
Objective To compare the actions of Longbie Capsules and bone marrow mesenchymal stem cell (BMSC)transplantation in repairing the damaged cartilage of knee osteoarthritis(KOA)rats. Methods Thirty-six rats aged 4-6 weeks old were induced into KOA model(bilateral knees)by collagenase injection method. All of the modeled rats were randomly divided into model group(intragastric administration of normal saline), BMSC transplantation group(giving tail vein injection of 1 ×106 of BMSCs per time, 2 times every week), and Chinese medicine group (intragastric administration of Longbie Capsules of 7.5 g·kg-1·d-1),12 rats in each group. Six weeks later,the cartilage of rat bilateral knees was taken out. The pathological changes of cartilage were observed by hematoxylin-eosin(HE) staining method, and the protein and mRNA expression levels of Col2a1, X-linkedinhibitor of apoptosis protein (XIAP), HuR in rat knee cartilage were detected by immunohistochemistry and real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR), respectively. Results The HE staining results showed that the cartilage tissue surface was rough with more cracks, and the cartilage cells gathered with the cytoplasm collapsed and arranging disorderly in the model group. The number of chondrocytes was increased and cell surface was flat,and the cracks of the cartilage were decreased with the chondrocytes arranging uniformly in Chinese medicine group and BMSC transplantation group compared with the model group. The results of immunohistochemistry and qPCR detection showed that in Chinese medicine dosage group and BMSC transplantation group, the protein and mRNA expression levels of Col2a1,XIAP and HuR were significantly higher than those in the model group (P<0.05 or P<0.0001), but there was no significant difference between the two medication groups(P>0.05). Conclusion Longbie Capsules and BMSC transplantation can promote the secretion of Col2a1 in the cartilage tissue of KOA rats,improve cartilage, and their mechanism may be related with up-regulating apoptosis-related proteins HuR and XIAP.