Influence of acupuncture on IL-1beta and TNF-alpha expression in the cartilage of rats with knee osteoarthritis / 中国骨伤

ABSTRACT

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To explore the influence of acupuncture treatment on proinflammatory cytokines of osteoarthritic (OA) cartilage.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Forty female SD rats were randomly and averagely divided into four groups the normal, model, acupuncture and control group. The method of heel tendon resection for unilateral hind limb was used to establish OA animal models-that was to cut off the rat's heel tendon of left hind limb. The acupuncture group and control group were respectively treated by electro-acupuncture and Diclofenac on right hind limb of each animal for 2 weeks. Immunohistochemical staining was used to observe the expression characteristic of IL-1beta and TNF-alpha in cartilage of each group,and the differences were compared among the groups.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Both IL-1beta and TNF-alpha expression in model group were significantly up-regulated than those in the normal group (P<0.01). Their expression in model, acupuncture and control group were significantly different (P< 0.01). IL-1beta and TNF-alpha expression were significantly down-regulated in acupuncture and control group than that in model group (P<0.01), while the difference between the two former groups was not significant (P>0.05).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Acupuncture can down-regulate the expression of IL-1beta and TNF-alpha in osteoarthritic chondrocytes, and the regulating effect is the same as Diclofenac. This shows that acupuncture has a certain protective effect on osteoarthritic cartilage.</p>