Abstract
Diacerein has proved to be effective in the treatment of osteoarthritis. We investigated the effects of rhein, an active metabolite of diacerein, on the degradation of recombinant human interleukin-1α (rhIL-1α)-induced proteoglycan and matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) release from rabbit articular chondrocytes. Chondrocytes were treated for 24 h with rhein in the presence of rhIL-1α. Rhein suppressed the rhIL-1α-induced proteoglycan degradation. In addition, rhein decreased the rhIL-1α-induced proMMP-3 production and reduced the MMPs activity. These results suggested that diacerein might have a protective effect on proteoglycan degradation via the suppressive effect of rhein on the production of proMMPs.
