Effects Of Xiaogutong Decotion On The Expression Of Adamts-7 In Rat Osteoarthritis

ObjectiveIn industrialized societies, arthritis is the leading cause of physical disability, increase healthcare usage and impairs quality of life. The impact of arthritic conditions is expected to grow as the population continues to age in the coming decades. The understanding of the precise etiology, pathogenesis and progression of arthritic diseases remains beyond our reach; which limits the treatment development.prof.Hu has a wealth of clinical experience in the treatment of OA with traditional chinese medicine. The article aim at investing the role of ADAMTS-7 and COMP in the pathology of OA, by the model of OA rat , then try to get the possible mechanism of traditional Chinese medicine in treatment of OA.MethodWe divided the study into two parts. In part one, we took the method of improved injecting papain into the cavity of knee joint to establish the model of OA, then we divided them into normal group, model group, xiaogutong treatment group(TCM group), diclofenac group randomly. The cartilage damage in histomorphology was assessed by Mnakin's. The expression and distribution of protein ADAMTS-7 in articular cartilage and synnovium was checked by immunohistochemistry at different group; In part two, the expression of COMP mRNA was checked by RT-PCR in cartilage and synovium of each group, we also assessed the serum COMP by ELISA. ResultIn part one, the expression of ADAMTS-7 protein in cartilage of model group was higher than normal group (p<0.01), the same trend of ADAMTS-7 expression could be find in the synovium (p<0.05). The expression of ADAMTS-7 in cartilage of each group was higher than that in the corresponding synovium. The TCM group could reduce the ADAMTS-7 expression in cartilage compared the model group (p<0.05), the difference of the protein in cartilage between the diclofenac group and the model group was not significant(p>0.05) .The expression of ADAMTS-7 in synovium was reduced in both TCM group and diclofenac group (p<0.05).In part two, the expression of COMP mRNA in the model group was significantly higher compared to the normal (p<0.01).Both TCM group and diclofenac group showed a lower expression of COMP mRNA in cartilage (p<0.01),we could also find the expression of that in synovium was lower (p<0.05). The serum COMP was increased clearly contrasted the normal group (p<0.01), and the treatment of TCM and diclofenac can reduce the level of serum COMP (p<0.01) .ConclusionThe role of ADAMTS-COMP degradation- Decrease the stability of extracellular matrix in the pathology of OA was proved. The high expressions of ADAMTS and COMP in cartilage and synovium can promote the progress of OA. Xiaogu tong Decotion may inhibit the progress of OA by the way of ADAMTS loop.