Title:Inflammatory Response Modulation by Low-Dose Anti-inflammatory
Drugs Treatment in an In Vitro Osteoarthritis Cellular Model
Volume: 31
Issue: 13
Author(s): Marco Iuliano, Valter Santilli, Andrea Mineo, Marco Paoloni, Paolo Rosa, Giorgio Mangino and Giovanna Romeo*
Affiliation:
- Department of Medico-Surgical Sciences and Biotechnologies-Polo Pontino, Faculty of Pharmacy and
Medicine, Sapienza University of Rome, Latina, Italy
Keywords:
Osteoarthritis, low-dose-medicine, interleukin-10, anti-IL-1, low grade inflammation, chemokines, NF- κB.
Abstract:
Background: Low-dose-medicine is based on the administration of low doses
of biological regulators to restore the immunologic balance altered in the disease. Cytokines
are pivotal regulators of cellular and tissue functions and impaired crosstalk, due
to an imbalance between specific cytokines, it is fundamental in acute inflammation and
diseases correlated to low-grade chronic inflammation. Osteoarthritis is the most prevalent
arthritic disease and a leading cause of disability. In the treatment of muscle- skeletal
pathologies, the therapeutic integration of conventional medicine with homotoxicology,
or low-dose-medicine appears to be beneficial.
Objective: This study aims to get more insights into the role of inflammatory cytokines
and chemokines during the development of osteoarthritis and to evaluate a possible blocking
strategy using anti-inflammatory molecules, we resort to an in vitro experimental
model using an established human chondrosarcoma cell line that underwent to a well
known pro-inflammatory stimulus as bacterial lipopolysaccharide.
Methods: We tested the production of inflammatory-related cytokines and chemokines,
and the efficacy of low-dose (LD) administration of anti-inflammatory compounds, namely
IL-10 and anti-IL-1, to block inflammatory cellular pathways.
Results: Following an inflammatory insult, chondrocytes upregulated the expression of
several pro-inflammatory cyto-/chemokines and this induction could be counteracted by
LD IL-10 and anti-IL-1. We reported that these effects could be ascribed to an interfering
effect of LD drugs with the NF-κB signaling.
Conclusion: Our results provided a good indication that LD drugs can be effective in inhibiting
the inflammatory response in chondrocytes opening the way to new therapies for
the treatment of diseases such as osteoarthritis.
