Effect of p38 MAPK Signaling Pathway in Diagnosis and Treatment of Knee Ksteoarthritis by Traditional Chinese Medicine / 中国实验方剂学杂志

ABSTRACT

Knee osteoarthritis (KOA) is a kind of joint disease characterized by progressive degeneration of articular cartilage, synovitis and pain. Its pathogenesis is not yet completely clear. Generally, it is believed that age, sex, obesity, trauma, inflammation, genetic susceptibility and other mechanical and biological factors together lead to the degradation and synthetic coupling imbalance of cartilage cells, extracellular matrix and subchondral bone. In recent years, signaling pathway has become a hot spot in the research of KOA chondrocyte proliferation and apoptosis, and the research of signal pathway in the pathogenesis and targeted therapy of KOA also began. It usually involves the expressions of cytokines, relevant genes and proteins in KOA chondrocyte. These researches mainly focus on the proliferation and apoptosis of chondrocytes, the synthesis and degradation of extracellular matrix, and the sclerosis of subchondral bone. More studies focus on p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (p38 MAPK) signaling pathway. Literatures show that p38 MAPK signaling pathway can regulate the proliferation and apoptosis of chondrocytes, maintain the balance of extracellular matrix metabolism, regulate the production of matrix metalloproteinases and pro-inflammatory factors, participate in the degradation of collagen and proteoglycan, and play an important regulatory role in the pathological process of KOA. Traditional Chinese medicine(TCM) therapy under the guidance of holistic concept and dialectical treatment theory has a strong pertinence and remarkable curative effect, and can control the development of the disease fundamentally. Starting with the relationship between p38 MAPK and the pathogenesis of KOA, this paper summarizes the research progress of p38 MAPK signaling pathway in the diagnosis and treatment of KOA by TCM, and provides new targets for the clinical diagnosis and treatment of KOA.