title: Experimentally induced cartilage degeneration treated by pulsed electromagnetic field stimulation; an in vitro study on bovine cartilage.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Osteoarthritis (OA) is the final result of progressive alterations to articular cartilage structure, composition and cellularity, followed by an increase in the concentration of pro-inflammatory cytokines in joint synovial fluid. Even though the effect of pulsed electromagnetic field (PEMF) stimulation in counteracting OA progression and inflammation is of increasing interest, because of its anabolic and anti-inflammatory properties, the present study aimed to improve the knowledge on cartilage extracellular matrix (ECM) and chondrocyte changes related to the exposure of PEMF, from a histological and histomorphometric point of view.
  
  
  METHODS
  An in vitro OA model was realized, culturing bovine cartilage explants with a high dose of interleukin 1β (IL1β, 50 ng/ml) at different experimental times (24 h, and 7 and 21 days). The effects of PEMFs (75 Hz, 1.5 mT) were evaluated in cartilage explants treated with IL1β or not (control), in terms of cartilage structure, cellularity and proteoglycans, glycosaminoglycans, collagen II and transforming growth factor β1 synthesis by using histology, histomorphometry and immunohistochemistry.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Making a comparison with control cartilage, IL1β-treated explants showed a decrease in cartilage matrix, structure and cellularity parameters. PEMFs were able to counteract the progression of OA acting on both cartilage cellularity and ECM in cartilage previously treated with IL1β. Normal distribution (Kolmogroc-Smirnov test) and homoscedasticity (Levene test) of data were verified, then, the non-parametric Kruskal Wallis test followed by Mann-Whiteny U test for pairwise comparisons were performed. The p-value was adjusted according to the Dunn-Sidak correction.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These results, obtained by culturing and treating cartilage explants from two different joints, confirmed that PEMF stimulation can be used as adjuvant therapy to preserve cartilage from detrimental effects of high inflammatory cytokine levels during OA.
authors.affiliation: Department Rizzoli RIT, Rizzoli Orthopedic Institute, Laboratory of Biocompatibility, Innovative Technologies and Advanced Therapies, Bologna, 40136, Italy. francesca.veronesi@ior.it.
authors.forename: Francesca
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Veronesi
authors.affiliation: Department Rizzoli RIT, Rizzoli Orthopedic Institute, Laboratory of Biocompatibility, Innovative Technologies and Advanced Therapies, Bologna, 40136, Italy. milena.fini@ior.it.|Laboratory of Preclinical and Surgical Studies, Rizzoli Orthopedic Institute, Bologna, 40136, Italy. milena.fini@ior.it.
authors.forename: Milena
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fini
authors.affiliation: Department Rizzoli RIT, Rizzoli Orthopedic Institute, Laboratory of Biocompatibility, Innovative Technologies and Advanced Therapies, Bologna, 40136, Italy. gianluca.giavaresi@ior.it.|Laboratory of Preclinical and Surgical Studies, Rizzoli Orthopedic Institute, Bologna, 40136, Italy. gianluca.giavaresi@ior.it.
authors.forename: Gianluca
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Giavaresi
authors.affiliation: Department of Morphology, Surgery and Experimental Medicine, University of Ferrara, Ferrara, 44121, Italy. alessia.ongaro@unife.it.
authors.forename: Alessia
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ongaro
authors.affiliation: Department of Morphology, Surgery and Experimental Medicine, University of Ferrara, Ferrara, 44121, Italy. monica.demattei@unife.it.
authors.forename: Monica
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: De Mattei
authors.affiliation: Department of Morphology, Surgery and Experimental Medicine, University of Ferrara, Ferrara, 44121, Italy. pllgns@unife.it.
authors.forename: Agnese
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Pellati
authors.affiliation: IGEA - Clinical Biophysic, Carpi (Modena), 41012, Italy. s.setti@igeamedical.com.
authors.forename: Stefania
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Setti
authors.affiliation: Department Rizzoli RIT, Rizzoli Orthopedic Institute, Laboratory of Biocompatibility, Innovative Technologies and Advanced Therapies, Bologna, 40136, Italy. matilde.tschon@ior.it.|Laboratory of Preclinical and Surgical Studies, Rizzoli Orthopedic Institute, Bologna, 40136, Italy. matilde.tschon@ior.it.
authors.forename: Matilde
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tschon
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002417:Cattle; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D053583:Interleukin-1beta; D055909:Magnetic Field Therapy; D010003:Osteoarthritis / Q000628:therapy*
chemical_list: D053583:Interleukin-1beta