RESUMO
Objective To investigate the effect and significance of Jiangu granule on the expression of aquaporin 3 (AQP3) in articular cartilage of knee osteoarthritis (OA) rats.Methods Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were randomly divided into sham operation group, model group, and Jiangu granule treatment group.The treatment group was divided into Jiangu granule high dose, medium dose, and low dose groups, with 12 rats in each group.The osteoarthritis model was made by injecting 4％ papain and 0.03 mol/L Lcysteine mixture into the knee joint.Sham-operated group and model group received normal feeding every day.Treatment group (high, medium, and low dose groups), the next day after the completion of the mod el, were given different dose Jiangu granule by gavage twice a day for 4 weeks.After treatment, the ratswere executed uniformly, using general optical microscope and the pathological section of histology to observe the articular cartilage damage.The expression of AQP3 in articular cartilage of rats was detected by real time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and Western blot.Results The articular cartilage destruction of Jiangu granule treatment group was significantly less than that of the model group (P ＜ 0.05).The mRNA and protein expression levels of AQP3 in model group was significantly higher than that in the sham operation group (P ＜ 0.05).OA rats with Jiangu granule after 4 weeks treatment, the mRNA and protein expression levels of AQP3 in articular cartilage were decreased significantly.Jiangu granule in each sub group relative to the model group had statistical significance (P ＜ 0.05), and the high dose group was decreased significantly.Conclusions Jiangu granule can reduce the expressions of AQP3 in OA articular cartilage of rats and alleviate the swelling of joints, which may have protective effects on articular cartilage.
RESUMO
Objective To investigate the effect of tissue engineered cartilage on the repair of artic ular cartilage defects in rabbits with calcium alginate gel (CAG) loaded transforming growth factor beta 3 (TGF-β3) and compounded with adipose mesenchymal stem cells (ADSCs).Methods The ADSCs were separated and cultured in subcutaneous fat of New Zealand white rabbits.The full-thickness articular cartilage defect model was made at the patellar groove by exposure of the femoral ankle joint.ADSCs were implanted into calcium alginate scaffolds loaded with TGF-β3 to construct tissue-engineered cartilage and transplanted into rabbit articular cartilage defects.The animals were divided into four groups:control group (injected with sterile isotonic saline),CAG group (injected with CAG),ADSCs + CAG group (injected with CAG loaded with ADSCs),TGF-β3 + CAG group (injected with CAG loaded with TGF-β3) and TGF-β3 + ADSCs + CAG group (injected with CAG loaded with TGF-β3 and ADSCs).At the end of 12 weeks,the repair of articular cartilage defects was observed by gross observation,hematoxylin-eosin (HE) staining,immunohistochemical staining of safranin-O and type Ⅱ] collagen,and the scoring method developed by In ternational Association of Cartilage Repair (ICRS) Histological score.Results The cartilage repair effect of TGF-β3 + ADSCs + CAG group was better than that of other groups,not only the neonatal tissue and the surrounding normal tissue closely,but also the secretion of extracellular matrix and normal tissue similar.The ICRS scores of each group were (7.06 ±+ 0.18) score,(7.15 + 0.23) score,(7.45 + 0.25) score,(7.47 + 0.24) score and (15.78 ±+ 0.24) score.That of TGF-β3 + ADSCs + CAG group was better than that of other groups,the difference was significant (P ＜ 0.05).Conclusions CAG loaded with TGF-β3 and combined with ADSCs has a good effect in repairing articular cartilage defects in rabbits,and is a structural repair.