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Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases logoLink to Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases
. 2004 Apr;63(4):369–372. doi: 10.1136/ard.2002.001461

Carboxymethylated chitin reduces MMP-1 expression in rabbit ACLT osteoarthritic cartilage

W Hongbin 1, D Jingyuan 1, C Linyun 1, D Yuming 1
PMCID: PMC1754947  PMID: 15020329

Abstract

Objective: To examine the in vivo effects of carboxymethylated chitin (CMC), intra-articularly administered, on cartilage degradation and the level and distribution of cartilage matrix metalloproteinase-1 (MMP-1).

Methods: Osteoarthritis (OA) was induced in 20 rabbits by unilateral anterior cruciate ligament transection (ACLT). The experimental group, comprising 10 rabbits randomly selected, was given an intra-articular injection of 0.3 ml of 2% CMC solution at 1, 3, and 5 weeks after ACLT. A further 10 rabbits that received an intra-articular injection of 0.3 ml normal saline at the same time served as controls. All knees were harvested at 6 weeks after surgery. Cartilage degradation of femoral condyles was evaluated at two levels: macroscopic and light microscopic. Tissue level and distribution of MMP-1 was documented by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and immunohistochemistry.

Results: Cartilage degradation in the control group was significantly more severe than that in the experimental group both on the macroscopic grading scale and on Mankin's grading scale. In RT-PCR the amount of MMP-1 was significantly reduced by the treatment of CMC. Immunohistochemical study showed that in the experimental group MMP-1 was predominantly expressed in the superficial and upper intermediate layers of cartilage, and the amount of MMP-1 in the experimental group was also lower than that in control group.

Conclusion: CMC significantly reduces the severity of cartilage degradation and reduces the expression of MMP-1 in cartilage, both at the mRNA and the protein level, and thus may be a potential drug for the treatment of OA.

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Figure 1 .

Figure 1

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Representative bands of MMP-1 in RT-PCR electrophoresis (lanes 1–4, control group; lanes 5–8, experimental group): indicating that the expression of MMP-1 in the experimental group is significantly lower than that in control group. GAPDH is a reference gene; the lengths of the MMP-1 and GAPDH bands are 307 bp and 302 bp, respectively.

Figure 2 .

Figure 2

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Immunohistochemistry study of MMP-1 (photomicrograph x400). (A) The experimental group, showing that MMP-1 positive cells are predominantly located in the superficial and upper intermediate layers. (B) The immunohistochemical control, showing only background staining. (C) The control group, showing that the number of MMP-1 positive cells is significantly increased compared with that in the experimental group.

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