Fraxin Prevents Knee Osteoarthritis through Inhibiting Chondrocyte Apoptosis in an Experimental Rat Osteoarthritis Model

BACKGROUND: Current treatments of osteoarthritis are unsatisfied, a new approach towards the treatment of osteoarthritis is urged considering the state at present. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study is to investigate the effect of fraxin on knee OA in a rat model and probe into the possible molecular mechanism. METHODS: Primary Murine Chondrocytes were isolated and cell apoptosis analyses were performed. Rat OA models were established using meniscectomy method and allocated into three groups. Knee joint specimens were collected for qRT-PCR, western blotting and histological analysis. Statistical analyses were processed by using a SPSS. RESULTS: The apoptosis rate of fraxin group is significantly reduced compared with the OA group or the control group. Fraxin remarkably down-regulated the expression of cleaved-Caspase-3 while significantly up-regulated the expression of Bcl-2, both on mRNA and protein levels. Toluidine blue stain results show relatively lighter articular cartilage damage compared with OA group. CONCLUSION: Fraxin prevents knee osteoarthritis by inhibiting chondrocyte apoptosis, which makes it a potential candidate as an anti-OA drug for clinical use.