title: Melatonin enhances cartilage matrix synthesis by porcine articular chondrocytes.
abstract: To develop a minimally invasive preventive measure for early osteoarthritis, the effect of melatonin on cartilage matrix synthesis of articular chondrocytes was evaluated in vitro in a pellet culture system. The chondrogenic markers were assessed using histology, TaqMan polymerase chain reaction, and western blot. Our results show that melatonin treatment yielded chondrocyte-pellets with a higher expression of chondrogenic markers consisting of collagen II, Sox 9, and aggrecan at both the mRNA and protein levels. A hypertrophic marker, collagen X, remained low. Moreover, up-regulation of internal transforming growth factor beta1 (TGF-beta1) expression was observed in the melatonin-treated cells. Our data indicate, for the first time, that the administration of melatonin enhances cartilage matrix synthesis of articular chondrocytes in a serum-containing pellet culture system, likely through the TGF-beta signal pathway. Melatonin may prove to be a highly valuable addition to current therapeutic models for degenerative cartilage repair.
authors.affiliation: Tissue Engineering Laboratory, Department of Orthopaedics, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV 26506-9196, USA. mpei@hsc.wvu.edu
authors.forename: Ming
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pei
authors.forename: Fan
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: He
authors.forename: Lei
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Wei
authors.forename: Ashley
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rawson
mesh_terms: D053674:Aggrecans / Q000096:biosynthesis; D000818:Animals; D000975:Antioxidants / Q000494:pharmacology*; D002358:Cartilage, Articular / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism*; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D019902:Chondrocytes / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism*; D024043:Collagen Type II / Q000096:biosynthesis; D024121:Collagen Type X / Q000096:biosynthesis; D005109:Extracellular Matrix / Q000378:metabolism*; D008550:Melatonin / Q000494:pharmacology*; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000096:biosynthesis; D055758:SOX9 Transcription Factor / Q000096:biosynthesis; D013552:Swine; D053773:Transforming Growth Factor beta1 / Q000096:biosynthesis; D015854:Up-Regulation / Q000187:drug effects*
chemical_list: D053674:Aggrecans; D000975:Antioxidants; D024043:Collagen Type II; D024121:Collagen Type X; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D055758:SOX9 Transcription Factor; D053773:Transforming Growth Factor beta1; D008550:Melatonin