Study on the effect of adiponectin on the differentiation of cartilage derived stem cells into chondrocytes

Objective To observe the effect of adiponectin on the differentiation of cartilage derived stem cells into chondrocytes from the articular cartilage of patients with advanced osteoarthritis. Methods The remaining cartilage tissue was collected from 5 patients with advanced osteoarthritis underwent total knee arthroplasty, then cultured and selected chondroprogenitors, to observe and compare the expression of type Ⅰ, type Ⅱ collagen, Aggrecan and sex determining region Y box-9 (SOX-9) by immunohistochemistry and the related genes expression between simple cartilage induced group and the group with adiponectin. Results The chondroprogenitors selected from articular cartilage of patients with advanced osteoarthritis can differentiate into chondrocytes under appropriate conditions; when in chondrogenic medium added adiponectin, compared with the group without adiponectin, the gene and protein expression of type Ⅱ collagen and Aggrecan decreased (type Ⅱ collagen: 1.004±0.125 vs. 0.588±0.101, P=0.001; Aggrecan: 1.002±0.050 vs. 0.584±0.138, P=0.000), the SOX-9 downregulation was not obvious (0.998±0.080 vs. 0.946±0.149, P=0.513), but the expression of type I collagen increased significantly (2.290±0.349 vs. 1.010±0.059, P=0.000). Conclusion Adiponectin can inhibit chondrogenic potential of chondroprogenitors. Key words: Adiponectin; Chondrogprogenitors; Chondrogenic differentiation; Sex determining region Y box-9