Sauchinone is one of the active lignan isolated from Saururus chinensis, which has been considered to possess various pharmacological activities, such as antitumor, hepatoprotective, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory effects. However, the functional roles of sauchinone in interleukin-1 beta (IL-1β)-stimulated human osteoarthritis (OA) chondrocytes are still unknown. Thus, in this study, we investigated the anti-inflammatory effects of sauchinone in IL-1β-stimulated chondrocytes. Our results demonstrated that sauchinone significantly attenuated NO and PGE2 production, as well as inhibited iNOS and COX-2 expression in IL-1β-stimulated OA chondrocytes. In addition, sauchinone efficiently inhibited IL-1β-induced MMP-3 and MMP-13 release in human OA chondrocytes. Furthermore, sauchinone significantly attenuated the activation of NF-κB in human OA chondrocytes. In conclusion, we showed for the first time that sauchinone inhibited inflammatory response in IL-1β-stimulated human chondrocytes probably through inhibiting the activation of NF-κB signaling pathway. These data suggest that sauchinone may be a potential agent in the treatment of OA.
Keywords: chondrocyte; inflammatory response; osteoarthritis; sauchinone.
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