Effect of Betula platyphylla var. japonica on proteoglycan release, type II collagen degradation, and matrix metalloproteinase expression in rabbit articular cartilage explants.
Articular cartilage is a potential target for drugs designed to inhibit the activity of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) to stop or slow the destruction of proteoglycan and collagen in the cartilage extracellular matrix. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of Betula platyphylla var. japonica on inhibiting the release of glycosaminoglycan (GAG), the degradation of collagen, and MMP expression and activity in rabbit articular cartilage explants. Interleukin-1alpha (IL-1alpha) rapidly induced GAG, but collagen was much less readily released from cartilage explants. Betula platyphylla var. japonica significantly inhibited GAG and collagen release in a concentration-dependent manner. Betula platyphylla var. japonica dose-dependently inhibited MMP-3 and MMP-13 expression and activities from IL-1alpha-treated cartilage explant culture when tested at concentrations ranging from 0.02 to 0.2 mg/ml. Betula platyphylla var. japonica had no harmful effect on chondrocyte viability or cartilage morphology in cartilage explants. Histological analysis indicated that Betula platyphylla var. japonica reduced the degradation of the cartilage matrix compared with that of IL-1alpha-treated cartilage explants. These results indicate that Betula platyphylla var. japonica inhibits the degradation of proteoglycan and collagen through the down regulation of MMP-3 and MMP-13 expression and activities without affecting the viability or morphology of IL-1alpha-stimulated rabbit articular cartilage explants.
Cho
Yoon-Je
YJ
Department of Orthopedic Surgery, College of Medicine, Kyung Hee University, Seoul, Korea.
Huh
Jeong-Eun
JE
Kim
Deog-Yoon
DY
Kim
Nam-Jae
NJ
Lee
Jae-Dong
JD
Baek
Yong-Hyeon
YH
Cho
Eun-Mi
EM
Yang
Ha-Ru
HR
Choi
Do-Young
DY
Park
Dong-Suk
DS
D000818:Animals; D029662:Betula; D002358:Cartilage, Articular / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism*; D024043:Collagen Type II / Q000235:genetics*; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation / Q000187:drug effects; D007700:Kinetics; D007770:L-Lactate Dehydrogenase / Q000032:analysis; D020782:Matrix Metalloproteinases / Q000235:genetics*; D009924:Organ Culture Techniques; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000494:pharmacology*; D011509:Proteoglycans / Q000378:metabolism*; D011817:Rabbits; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction
D024043:Collagen Type II; D010936:Plant Extracts; D011509:Proteoglycans; D007770:L-Lactate Dehydrogenase; D020782:Matrix Metalloproteinases