Aucubin alleviates knee osteoarthritis in mice by suppressing the NF-κB signaling pathway
MAI Yongxin
ZHOU Shuting
WEN Ruijia
ZHANG Jinfang
ZHAN Dongxiang
Abstract：Objective To assess the therapeutic effect of aucubin in mice with knee osteoarthritis(KOA)and investigate the underlying mechanism.Methods Sixty C57BL/6J mice were randomized equally into sham operation group,KOA model group,glucosamine(positive control)treatment group,and low-,medium-,and high-dose aucubin treatment groups(2,4,and 8 mg/kg,respectively).KOA mouse models were established by transection of the anterior cruciate ligament(ACL),and the treatment was initiated on day 1 postoperatively and administered weekly for 8 weeks.Safranin O-fast green staining,immunohistochemistry,and microCT were used to evaluate the changes in cartilage pathology,inflammatory protein expression,and subchondral bone volume fraction(BV/TV).The expression levesl of COL2,SOX9,p-P65,IL-1β and MMP13 proteins in the cartilage tissues were detected using Western blotting.In a chondrocyte model with IL-1β treatment for mimicking KOA,the effect of aucubin on chondrogenic differentiation was observed with Alcian blue and Safranin O staining,and cellular COL2,SOX9 and TNF-α mRNA expressions were detected with RT-qPCR.Results Compared with those in the model group,the mouse models receiving aucubin treatment showed significantly upregulated COL2 and SOX9 protein levels and downregulated p-P65,IL-1β and MMP13 expressions in the cartilage tissues.In the IL-1β-induced chondrocyte model,aucubin treatment significantly upregulated the mRNA expressions of SOX9 and COL2 but lowered the mRNA expression of TNF-α.Alcian blue and Safranin O staining confirmed that aucubin promoted the synthesis of cartilage extracellular matrix and enhanced chondrogenic differentiation of the cells.Conclusion Aucubin can effectively alleviate KOA in mice by inhibiting NF-κB-mediated cartilage inflammation,promoting cartilage matrix synthesis,and improving subchondral bone microstructure.
Keywords：aucubinosteoarthritisnuclear factor-κBcartilage repairmatrix metalloproteinases
Publication Date：2025-10-20
Online Publishing Date：2025-11-03(First online date of this platform, not the publication date of the document)
Pages：7( 2104-2110 )