Osteoarthritis (OA) is a common degenerative joint disease worldwide, which is characterized by articular cartilage lesions. With more understanding of the disease, OA is considered to be a disorder of the whole joint. However, molecular communication within and between tissues during the disease process is still unclear. In this study, we used transcriptome data to reveal crosstalk between different tissues in OA. We used four groups of transcription profiles acquired from the Gene Expression Omnibus database, including articular cartilage, meniscus, synovium, and subchondral bone, to screen differentially expressed genes during OA. Potential crosstalk between tissues was depicted by ligand-receptor pairs.Aims
Methods
Activation of the leptin pathway is closely correlated with human knee cartilage degeneration. However, the role of the long form of the leptin receptor (Ob-Rb) in cartilage degeneration needs further study. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of increasing the expression of Ob-Rb on chondrocytes using a lentiviral vector containing Ob-Rb. The medial and lateral cartilage samples of the tibial plateau from 12 osteoarthritis (OA) patients were collected. Ob-Rb messenger RNA (mRNA) was detected in these samples. The Ob-Rb-overexpressing chondrocytes and controls were treated with different doses of leptin for two days. The activation of the p53/p21 pathway and the number of senescence-associated β-galactosidase (SA-β-gal)-positive cells were evaluated. The mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) signalling pathway and autophagy were detected after the chondrocytes were treated with a high dose of leptin.Objectives
Methods
The aim of this study was to identify key pathological genes in osteoarthritis (OA). We searched and downloaded mRNA expression data from the Gene Expression Omnibus database to identify differentially expressed genes (DEGs) of joint synovial tissues from OA and normal individuals. Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopaedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway analyses were used to assess the function of identified DEGs. The protein-protein interaction (PPI) network and transcriptional factors (TFs) regulatory network were used to further explore the function of identified DEGs. The quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) was applied to validate the result of bioinformatics analysis. Electronic validation was performed to verify the expression of selected DEGs. The diagnosis value of identified DEGs was accessed by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis.Objectives
Methods
Diffuse noxious inhibitory control (DNIC) works through the “pain-inhibits-pain” principle in which an additional painful (conditioned) stimulus can suppress the initial experienced pain through the descending and inhibiting pathways. Painful stimulation produced less pain inhibition in patients with knee osteoarthritis patients (KOA) than in controls, suggesting an impaired DNIC function and a loss of endogenous pain modulation. Electroacupuncture (EA) is widely used to treat acute pain associated with KOA, but the available evidence of its benefit on chronification of acute pain is scarce. This is a single-arm clinical study aims to evaluate the effect of EA on the chronification of pain associated with KOA and provide a profile of various cytokines underlying the pathogenesis of KOA. Participants are recruited through hospital-based recruitment and advertisements, diagnosis was based upon the criteria formulated by the American College of Rheumatology. Each participant was administered with EA (2 mA < current < 5 mA) at the ipsilateral EX-LE5, ST35, ST34 and SP10 for two weeks (once a day, 30 minutes per session, in 5 sessions per week). Visual Analog Scale (VAS), DNIC function, the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC), Numerical Rating Scale (NRS), Emotional Scale (ES) and Present Pain Intensity (PPI) are evaluated before treatment and after 5 to 10 sessions of treatment. Cytokines including GRO, TNF-α, VEGF, IP-10, IL-1β, IL-17, IL-8, MCP-1 and IL-10 levels in plasma were measured using a Human Cytokine/Chemokine Magnetic Bead Panel on MAGPIX instrument before and after two weeks of treatment. A total of 39 patients with KOA were enrolled in our study (age: 63.46±9.89 years; height: 1.63±0.07 m; BMI: 22.83±2.89), all of them completed the trial. After 5 sessions of EA treatment, a significant decrease of VAS, WOMAC scores, NRS, ES and PPI was detected, but no significant difference in DNIC was observed. After two weeks' treatment, all clinical parameters (VAS, DNIC, WOMAC, NRS, ES, PPI) reduced significantly when compared with baseline; GRO, IL-17A, IL-1b, IL-8, MCP-1, TNF-a, VEGF levels in plasma reduced significantly while IL-10 and IP-10 concentrations were elevated. This study appeared to provide evidence that EA was effective in improving chronic pain associated with KOA through repairing the impaired DNIC function and down-regulation of OA detrimental cytokines. A randomized controlled prospective study with large sample size is required to clarify the effect of EA in reversing the chronification of pain in KOA.
