title: Establishment of a rabbit model to study the influence of advanced glycation end products accumulation on osteoarthritis and the protective effect of pioglitazone.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the role of advanced glycation end products (AGEs) in cartilage degeneration in vivo and determine the influence of the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ (PPARγ) agonist pioglitazone on AGEs-induced osteoarthritis (OA) in a rabbit model.
  
  
  METHODS
  Thirty-two rabbits were separated into four groups (n = 8 each) and received 500 μL of 123, 350, or 1000 mmol/L D-ribose or Phosphate buffered saline (PBS) solution administered to the right stifle joint via intra-articular injection twice a week. All the rabbits ran 500 m on treadmills every day. Another 16 rabbits were administered 1000 mmol/L D-ribose and divided into 2 groups (n = 8) that received either placebo or pioglitazone administered orally at 20 mg/kg/day. Eight weeks later, cartilage damage was evaluated macroscopically, histologically, and biochemically.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Artificially increasing the AGEs level and exercise load resulted in cartilage damage and dose-dependent downregulation of PPARγ expression. The efficacy of pioglitazone treatment was tested in a rabbit OA model, and a clear chondroprotective effect was revealed by macro- and microscopic assessments.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Elevating AGEs in rabbits can accelerate the articular cartilage degradation that occurs with physical exercise, and pioglitazone can reduce the severity of the AGEs-induced OA in a rabbit model.
authors: The 163rd Central Hospital of the People's Liberation Army, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Hunan Normal University, PR China. Electronic address: feelyuqing@hotmail.com.
authors: Y
authors: Y
authors: Li
authors: The 163rd Central Hospital of the People's Liberation Army, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Hunan Normal University, PR China. Electronic address: 66812576@qq.com.
authors: Y
authors: Y
authors: Zhang
authors: The 163rd Central Hospital of the People's Liberation Army, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Hunan Normal University, PR China. Electronic address: jc163yy@163.com.
authors: C
authors: C
authors: Chen
authors: The 163rd Central Hospital of the People's Liberation Army, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Hunan Normal University, PR China. Electronic address: hnzhanghaibin@gmail.com.
authors: H
authors: H
authors: Zhang
authors: The 163rd Central Hospital of the People's Liberation Army, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Hunan Normal University, PR China. Electronic address: machidoctor@126.com.
authors: C
authors: C
authors: Ma
authors: The 163rd Central Hospital of the People's Liberation Army, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Hunan Normal University, PR China. Electronic address: 7739816@qq.com.
authors: Y
authors: Y
authors: Xia
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002358:Cartilage, Articular / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D017127:Glycation End Products, Advanced / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism; D007004:Hypoglycemic Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D007270:Injections, Intra-Articular; D020370:Osteoarthritis, Knee / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D047495:PPAR gamma / Q000819:agonists; D000077205:Pioglitazone; D011817:Rabbits; D013264:Stifle / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D045162:Thiazolidinediones / Q000494:pharmacology*
chemical_list: D017127:Glycation End Products, Advanced; D007004:Hypoglycemic Agents; D047495:PPAR gamma; D045162:Thiazolidinediones; D000077205:Pioglitazone
keywords: Advanced glycation end products (AGEs); Animal model; Osteoarthritis