Moderate Physical Activity as a Prevention Method for Knee Osteoarthritis and the Role of Synoviocytes as Biological Key

Paola Castrogiovanni; Michelino Di Rosa; Silvia Ravalli; Alessandro Castorina; Claudia Guglielmino; Rosa Imbesi; Michele Vecchio; Filippo Drago; Marta Anna Szychlinska; Giuseppe Musumeci

doi:10.3390/ijms20030511

Moderate Physical Activity as a Prevention Method for Knee Osteoarthritis and the Role of Synoviocytes as Biological Key

Int J Mol Sci. 2019 Jan 25;20(3):511. doi: 10.3390/ijms20030511.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Department of Biomedical and Biotechnological Sciences, Human Anatomy and Histology Section, School of Medicine, University of Catania, Via S. Sofia n°87, 95124 Catania, Italy. pacastro@unict.it.
² Department of Biomedical and Biotechnological Sciences, Human Anatomy and Histology Section, School of Medicine, University of Catania, Via S. Sofia n°87, 95124 Catania, Italy. mdirosa@unict.it.
³ Department of Biomedical and Biotechnological Sciences, Human Anatomy and Histology Section, School of Medicine, University of Catania, Via S. Sofia n°87, 95124 Catania, Italy. silviaravalli@gmail.com.
⁴ School of Life Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of Technology Sydney, P.O. Box 123, Broadway, Sydney, NSW 2007, Australia. Alessandro.Castorina@uts.edu.au.
⁵ Discipline of Anatomy and Histology, School of Medical Sciences, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia. Alessandro.Castorina@uts.edu.au.
⁶ Department of Biomedical and Biotechnological Sciences, Human Anatomy and Histology Section, School of Medicine, University of Catania, Via S. Sofia n°87, 95124 Catania, Italy. claudiaguglielmino11@gmail.com.
⁷ Department of Biomedical and Biotechnological Sciences, Human Anatomy and Histology Section, School of Medicine, University of Catania, Via S. Sofia n°87, 95124 Catania, Italy. roimbesi@unict.it.
⁸ Department of Biomedical and Biotechnological Sciences, Section of Pharmacology, University of Catania, via S. Sofia 67, 95123 Catania, Italy. michele_vecchio@yahoo.com.
⁹ Department of Biomedical and Biotechnological Sciences, Section of Pharmacology, University of Catania, via S. Sofia 67, 95123 Catania, Italy. fdrago@unict.it.
¹⁰ Department of Biomedical and Biotechnological Sciences, Human Anatomy and Histology Section, School of Medicine, University of Catania, Via S. Sofia n°87, 95124 Catania, Italy. marta.sz@hotmail.it.
¹¹ Department of Biomedical and Biotechnological Sciences, Human Anatomy and Histology Section, School of Medicine, University of Catania, Via S. Sofia n°87, 95124 Catania, Italy. g.musumeci@unict.it.
¹² School of the Sport of the Italian National Olympic Committee "CONI" Sicily, Via Emanuele Notarbartolo, 90141 Palermo, Italy. g.musumeci@unict.it.

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of moderate physical activity (MPA) on the expression of osteoarthritis (OA)-related (IL-1β, IL-6, TNF-α, MMP-13) and anti-inflammatory and chondroprotective (IL-4, IL-10, lubricin) biomarkers in the synovium of an OA-induced rat model. A total of 32 rats were divided into four groups: Control rats (Group 1); rats performing MPA (Group 2); anterior cruciate ligament transection (ACLT)-rats with OA (Group 3); and, ACLT-rats performing MPA (Group 4). Analyses were performed using Hematoxylin & Eosin (H & E) staining, histomorphometry and immunohistochemistry. In Group 3, OA biomarkers were significantly increased, whereas, IL-4, IL-10, and lubricin were significantly lower than in the other experimental groups. We hypothesize that MPA might partake in rescuing type B synoviocyte dysfunction at the early stages of OA, delaying the progression of the disease.

Keywords: interleukins; lubricin; osteoarthritis; physical activity; synovium.

MeSH terms

Animals
Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injuries / complications*
Cytokines / metabolism*
Disease Models, Animal
Interleukin-10 / metabolism
Interleukin-1beta / metabolism
Interleukin-4 / metabolism
Interleukin-6 / metabolism
Male
Osteoarthritis, Knee / metabolism
Osteoarthritis, Knee / prevention & control*
Physical Conditioning, Animal / methods*
Rats
Synoviocytes / metabolism*
Transcription Factors / metabolism
Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha / metabolism

Substances

Cytokines
IL1B protein, rat
Il6 protein, rat
Interleukin-1beta
Interleukin-6
Rabep2 protein, rat
Transcription Factors
Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha
Interleukin-10
Interleukin-4

Grants and funding

Triennial Research Plan 2016-2018/University Research Project Grant, University of Catania- BIOMETEC/International