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Abstract
Context: Dexmedetomidine (Dex) has been reported to have an anti-inflammatory effect. However, its role on osteoarthritis (OA) has not been explored.
Objective: This study investigates the effect of Dex on OA rat model induced by papain.
Materials and methods: The OA Wistar rat model was induced by intraluminal injection of 20 mL of papain mixed solution (4% papain 0.2 mL mixed with 0.03 mol L−1 l-cysteine 0.1 mL) into the right knee joint. Two weeks after papain injection, OA rats were treated by intra-articular injection of Dex (5, 10, or 20 μg kg−1) into the right knee (once a day, continuously for 4 weeks). Articular cartilage tissue was obtained after Dex treatment was completed.
Results: The gait behavior scores (2.83 ± 0.49), PWMT (15.2 ± 1.78) and PTWL (14.81 ± 0.92) in H-DEX group were higher than that of OA group, while Mankin score (5.5 ± 0.81) was decreased (p < 0.05). Compared with the OA group, the IL-1β (153.11 ± 16.05 pg mg−1), IL-18 (3.71 ± 0.7 pg mg−1), IL-6 (14.15 ± 1.94 pg/mg) and TNF-α (40.45 ± 10.28 pg mg−1) levels in H-DEX group were decreased (p < 0.05). MMP-13, NLRP3, and caspase-1 p10 expression in Dex groups were significantly lower than that of OA group (p < 0.05), while collagen II was increased (p < 0.05). p65 in the nucleus of Dex groups was significantly down-regulated than that of OA group (p < 0.05).
Discussion and Conclusions: Dex can improve pain symptoms and cartilage tissue damage of OA rats, which may be related to its inhibition of the activation of NF-κB and NLRP3 inflammasome.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interests is declare by the authors.
Data availability statement
All data generated or analyzed during this study are included in this published article.