Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2022 Sep 7;44(9):4100-4117.
doi: 10.3390/cimb44090281.

Study on the Role of MicroRNA-214 in the Rehabilitation of Cartilage in Mice with Exercise-Induced Traumatic Osteoarthritis

Hong Cao  1 , Xuchang Zhou  1   2 , Hui Li  1 , Miao Wang  1 , Wei Wu  1 , Jun Zou  1
Affiliations

Study on the Role of MicroRNA-214 in the Rehabilitation of Cartilage in Mice with Exercise-Induced Traumatic Osteoarthritis

Hong Cao et al. Curr Issues Mol Biol. .

Abstract

This study aimed to explore the possible relationship between the expression of Micro RNA-214 (miR-214) and the pathogenesis and recovery in mice with post-traumatic osteoarthritis (PTOA). In this study, 40 male C57BL/6 mice were randomly divided into five groups: model control (MC) group, model (M) group, rehabilitation control (RC) group, model + rehabilitation (M + R) group, and model + convalescent (M + C) group. Four weeks of high-intensity treadmill exercise (HITE) and 4 weeks of moderate-intensity treadmill exercise (MITE) were implemented for PTOA modeling and rehabilitation, respectively. In vitro, 10% elongation mechanical strain was used for IL-1β stimulated chondrocytes. We found that compared with the MC group, there was a significant increase in the aspect of inflammation and catabolism while a dramatic fall in miR-214 expression was observed in the M group. After the 4 weeks of MITE, the level of inflammation and metabolism, as well as miR-214 expression, was partially reversed in the M + R group compared with the M + C group. The expression of miR-214 decreased dramatically after chondrocyte stimulation by IL-1β and then increased significantly after 10% strain was applied to IL-1β-treated cells. These results suggest that a suitable mechanical load can increase the expression of miR-214, and that miR-214 may play a chondroprotective effect in the development of OA.

Keywords: articular cartilage; miR-214; post-traumatic osteoarthritis; treadmill exercise.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Changes in the weights of mice at different ages in each group. (A) Changes in the weight of mice in the MC and M groups; (B) Changes in the weight of mice in the RC, the M + R, and M + C groups. (n = 8, Comparison within M group: ▲ p < 0.05; comparison between MC and M groups: * p < 0.05; comparison between M + R and M + C groups: # p < 0.05).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Histological evaluation of joint tissue sections by HE and safranin O staining. (A) HE stained histological images of the knee joints; A(1): HE staining for MC group; A(2): HE staining for M group; A(3): HE staining for RC group; A(4): HE staining for M + R group; A(5): HE staining for M + C group; A(6): The Mankin score of each group; (B) Safranin-O-Fast Green stained histological images of the knee joints of mice; B(1): Safranin-O-Fast Green staining for MC group; B(2): Safranin-O-Fast Green staining for M group; B(3): Safranin-O-Fast Green staining for RC group; B(4): Safranin-O-Fast Green staining for M + R group; B(5): Safranin-O-Fast Green staining for M + C group; B(6): The Mankin score of each group. The red arrow indicates the site of cartilage damage. (n = 8, * p < 0.05, ** p < 0.01.).
Figure 3
Figure 3
3D reconstruction of the subchondral bone of the femoral condyle by micro-CT.
Figure 4
Figure 4
The gene expression of metabolic and inflammatory factors of knee joint cartilage. (A,B) the expression of COL2A mRNA; (C,D) the expression of ACAN mRNA; (E,F) the expression of TNF-α mRNA; (G,H) the expression of MMP-13 mRNA (n = 8, * p < 0.05, ** p < 0.01.)
Figure 5
Figure 5
The expression of mouse cartilage miR-214 and its related downstream genes. (A,B) the expression of miR-214; (C,D) the expression of Wnt1 mRNA; (E, F) the expression of β-catenin mRNA. (n = 8, * p < 0.05, ** p < 0.01.)
Figure 6
Figure 6
Toluidine blue O staining for chondrocytes.
Figure 7
Figure 7
Cell viability of chondrocyte stimulated with IL-1β at different concentrations: comparison between 0.1 ng/mL and 10 ng/mL. (** p < 0.01).
Figure 8
Figure 8
RNA expression of metabolic, inflammatory factors and miR-214 of chondrocyte. NC: Control group, IL-1β 0 h: IL-1β+ 0 h strain, IL-1β 1 h: IL-1β+ 1 h strain, IL-1β 1 h: IL-1β+ 1 h strain, IL-1β 2 h: IL-1β+ 2 h strain, IL-1β 4 h: IL-1β+ 4 h strain (n = 4, * p < 0.05, ** p < 0.01.)
Figure 9
Figure 9
Protein expression of metabolic factors of chondrocytes. NC: Control group, IL-1β 0 h: IL-1β+ 0 h strain, IL-1β 1 h: IL-1β+ 1 h strain, IL-1β 1 h: IL-1β+ 1 h strain, IL-1β 2 h: IL-1β+ 2 h strain, IL-1β 4 h: IL-1β+ 4 h strain (n = 4, * p < 0.05).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. Glyn-Jones S., Palmer A.J., Agricola R., Price A.J., Vincent T.L., Weinans H., Carr A.J. Osteoarthritis. Lancet. 2015;386:376–387. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(14)60802-3. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Hunter D.J., Bierma-Zeinstra S. Osteoarthritis. Lancet. 2019;393:1745–1759. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(19)30417-9. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Whittaker J.L., Roos E.M. A pragmatic approach to prevent post-traumatic osteoarthritis after sport or exercise-related joint injury. Best Pract. Res. Clin. Rheumatol. 2019;33:158–171. doi: 10.1016/j.berh.2019.02.008. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Souza R.B., Baum T., Wu S., Feeley B.T., Kadel N., Li X., Link T.M., Majumdar S. Effects of Unloading on Knee Articular Cartilage T1rho and T2 Magnetic Resonance Imaging Relaxation Times: A Case Series. J. Orthop. Sports Phys. Ther. 2012;42:511–520. doi: 10.2519/jospt.2012.3975. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Hinterwimmer S., Krammer M., Krötz M., Gläser C., Baumgart R., Reiser M., Eckstein F. Cartilage atrophy in the knees of patients after seven weeks of partial load bearing. Arthritis Care Res. 2004;50:2516–2520. doi: 10.1002/art.20378. - DOI - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources