Abstract
BackgroundOsteoarthritis (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.MethodsAn 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.ResultsMaking 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.ConclusionsThese 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.
Highlights
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
pulsed electromagnetic field (PEMF) stimulation was able to limit the progression of OA of increasing severity [20,21,22], to reduce IL1β and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) concentrations and to increase transforming growth factor-β1 (TGFβ1) in the synovial fluid of sheep treated with autologous osteochondral grafts [23]
In this study it was observed that PEMFs were able to counteract the progression of OA acting on both cartilage cellularity and extracellular matrix (ECM) in cartilage previously treated with IL1β
Summary
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. Veronesi et al BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders (2015) 16:308 exercises [4], that act only in the muscle of the joint These treatments relieve pain and inflammation and improve functionality, but do not resolve the pathological process once triggered, the outcomes are inconclusive and remain as long as these therapies are administered. For this reason, orthopedic research investigates chondroprotective treatments able to reduce the local inflammatory microenvironment and to favor damaged articular cartilage anabolic activity. Beneficial symptomatic effects [27, 28] or additional effects to physical treatments [29] were not observed in OA patients
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