THE EFFECT OF CHITOSAN ON OSTEOARTHRITIS IN RABBITS

Objective To investigate the effect and mechanism of intraarticular injection of chitosan on osteoarthritis in rabbits. Methods A model of osteoarthritis was created in 12 New-Zealand rabbits by injecting 0.3 mL of 4 g/L papain into articular cavity of the right knee. The rabbits were randomly divided into two group: chitosan-experiment and normal-saline-control. Medication was started seven days after the creation of the models, once a week for five weeks. All rabbits were sacrificed by aeroembolism seven days after the last medication. The pathology of cartilage and synovium of the knee joint was examined by HE staining and expression of TNF-α detected by immunohistochemistry. Results In comparison between the two groups, HE staining indicated that pathological changes of the cartilage and synovium were milder in the experiment group than the control; immunohistochemically, the expression levels of TNF-α were lower. Conclusion Chitosan oligosaccharide can obviously reduce the expressions of TNF-α in cartilage and synovium of osteoarthritis, delay the course of cataplasia of the cartilage, which can possibly become a new drug worth further research, development, and exploitation for the therapy of this condition.