抄録
Osteoarthritis(OA) is well known to be one of the most frequent rheumatic diseases observed mainly in elderly people. Although chondroitin sulfate (CS) has been used frequently as a supplement for the treatment of OA, the mechanism by which CS could favorably modify the clinical conditions of OA. The present study was undertaken to examine the influence of CS on the production of prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) and nitric oxide (NO), which are involved in the pathogenesis of OA, from synovial fibroblasts in vitro.Fibroblasts were prepared from surgical specimens obtained during arthroplasty for OA. Cells were stimulated with 5.0ng/ml IL-1β in the presence of various concentrations of CS for 24h. PGE2 and NO contents in culture supernatants were analyzed using ELISA test kits and NO2/NO3 assay kits, respectively.Addition of CS at more than 5.0μg/ml into cell culture significantly suppressed the ability of cell to produce NO through the inhibition of iNOS mRNA expression, which was increased by IL-1&beta stimulation. On the other hand, CS could not suppress PGE-2 production, even when 100.0μg/ml CS was added to cell cultures.These results may suggest that the suppressive effects of CS on NO production may bucontrite, in part, to favorable modification of clinical symptoms of OA. [J Physiol Sci. 2006;56 Suppl:S239]
