Serum levels of resistin and interleukin-17 are associated with increased cartilage defects and bone marrow lesions in patients with knee osteoarthritis

Abstract

Objectives: To investigate cross-sectional associations between serum levels of resistin and interleukin-17 (IL-17) and cartilage defects and bone marrow lesions (BMLs) in patients with knee symptomatic osteoarthritis (OA).

Methods: One hundred and ninety-four consecutively-selected patients with knee symptomatic OA (mean 55.4 years, range 34–74, 87% females) were included in Anhui Osteoarthritis (AHOA) Study. Knee cartilage defects and BMLs were determined at different sites using T2-weighted fat-suppressed fast spin echo MRI. Serum resistin, IL-17, and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) levels were measured using ELISA.

Results: In multivariable analyses, serum resistin was positively associated with cartilage defects at lateral femoral, lateral tibial, and medial tibial (all p < 0.05) sites. The significant associations were also present with BMLs at lateral femoral and tibial sites (ORs: 1.13–1.19, both p < 0.05). In patients with the highest quartile of hs-CRP (>2.45 pg/ml), IL-17 was positively and significantly associated with cartilage defect score at nearly all sites (ORs: 1.33–1.44, all p < 0.05), and BMLs at lateral and medial femoral sites (ORs: 1.26–1.51, both p < 0.05).

Conclusions: Serum levels of resistin were positively and independently associated with cartilage defects and BMLs in patients with knee OA. Serum IL-17 was significantly associated with cartilage defects and BMLs in patients with an increased inflammatory status. These suggest that metabolic and inflammatory mechanisms may have a role to play in knee OA.

Keywords:

• Bone
• Cartilage
• Interleukin-17
• Osteoarthritis
• Resistin

Acknowledgments

Special thanks go to the subjects who made this study possible. We also thank Hui Zhang for technical support.

Conflict of interest

Authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.

Funding

This work was supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China: [grant number 81172865].