title: Effect of Betula platyphylla var. japonica on proteoglycan release, type II collagen degradation, and matrix metalloproteinase expression in rabbit articular cartilage explants.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopedic Surgery, College of Medicine, Kyung Hee University, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Yoon-Je
authors.initials: YJ
authors.lastname: Cho
authors.forename: Jeong-Eun
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Huh
authors.forename: Deog-Yoon
authors.initials: DY
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Nam-Jae
authors.initials: NJ
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Jae-Dong
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Yong-Hyeon
authors.initials: YH
authors.lastname: Baek
authors.forename: Eun-Mi
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Cho
authors.forename: Ha-Ru
authors.initials: HR
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Do-Young
authors.initials: DY
authors.lastname: Choi
authors.forename: Dong-Suk
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Park
mesh_terms: 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
chemical_list: D024043:Collagen Type II; D010936:Plant Extracts; D011509:Proteoglycans; D007770:L-Lactate Dehydrogenase; D020782:Matrix Metalloproteinases