EXPERIMENTAL STUDY OF THE EFFECT OF VASCULAR ENDOTHELIAL GROWTH FACTORS ON DEGENERITIVE OSTEOARTRITIS OF KNEE JOINTS

Objective To study the pathogenesis of osteoarthritis (OA) by investigating the effect of vascular endothelial growth factors (VEGF) on experimental OA in rabbits. Methods Twenty New Zealand rabbits were equally randomized to normal control (group A),model control (group B),VEGF-joint-cavity-injection (group C) and VEGF-peritoneal-injection (group D). An OA model was established. Starting from the eighth day,intra-peritoneal injection of VEGF was given to rabbits in group B,once a day; intra-articularl injection of VEGF to group C,once very seven days. The rabbits were sacrificed after 12 weeks of medication. Gross and histologic observation of articular cartilage was carried out. Levels of MDA,NO,and SOD in serum and synovial fluid were detected. Results In group A,the articular cartilage was normal; in groups A and D,the defect of articular cartilage was partly repaired; in group C,the defect was fully recovered. Compared with group B,the morphology of articular cartilage in group C significantly improved,SOD increased both in serum and synovial fluid (F=11.43,P0.01),and both the levels of MDA and NO decreased (F=16.23,P0.01),no obvious improvement was seen in group D. Conclusion VEGF can effectively prevent and treat experimental OA,intraarticular injection is better than intraperitoneal injection.