Effect of psammosilene gavage on the expression of apoptosis-related proteins in chondrocytes of a rabbit osteoarthritis model / 中国组织工程研究

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Psammosilene Capsule is a traditional Miao medicine formula that consists of Psammosilene tunicoides and Schefflera kwangsiensis. Psammosilene Capsule has been shown to hold protective effect on cartilage, but the underlying mechanism remains unclear. OBJECTIVE: To explore the possible mechanism of Psammosilene gavage in the treatment of osteoarthritis. METHODS: Ten of the 40 rabbits were randomly selected as the blank control group. The remaining 30 rabbits were used to establish the osteoarthritis model in the right hind knee of the rabbit by the modified Hulth method, and then were randomly divided into model (n=10), Psammosilene gavage (n=10), and p38 inhibitor (n=10) groups. At 7 days after modeling, the Psammosilene gavage group was fed with Psammosilene (57.5 mg/kg per day, p38 inhibitor group was injected with p38 inhibitor into the right hind knee joint (SB203580, 10 μmol/L, 0.5 mL), once weekly. The blank control and model groups were given the same amount of clean water, once daily. After 8 weeks, all animals were sacrificed to remove the right hind knee femoral condyle and tibial plateau. Severity of cartilage injury was evaluated by Pelletier score. Cartilage degeneration was examined by hematoxylin-eosin staining, saffron O staining and Mankin score. The expression levels of P-p38 and Cleaved Caspase-3 protein in cartilage tissue were detected by western blot assay. The expression levels of Bcl-2 and Bax mRNA in cartilage tissues were detected by quantitative real-time PCR. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: (1) Compared with the Psammosilene gavage group, the model and p38 inhibitor groups had significantly increased Pelletier and Mankin scores (P < 0.05). (2) Compared with the Psammosilene gavage group, the expression levels of Bax mRNA and Cleaved Caspase-3 protein in the cartilage tissue in the model and p38 inhibitor groups were significantly increased (P < 0.05). (3) Compared with the Psammosilene gavage group, the expression level of Bcl-2 mRNA in the cartilage tissue in the model and p38 inhibitor groups was significantly decreased (P < 0.05). (4) Compared with the Psammosilene gavage group, the expression level of P-p38 protein in the model and p38 inhibitor groups was significantly increased (P < 0.05). (5) Our findings suggest that Psammosilene can inhibit the expression of apoptosis-related proteins and P-p38 protein in cartilage tissue, and then delay the degeneration of articular cartilage in the rabbit osteoarthritis model.