薬理と治療

Abstract

Objective The present study was designed to examine the influence of hyaluronic acid（HA） on the ability of synoviocytes to produce nitric oxide（NO）, which is the important effector molecule in the development of osteoarthritis, in response to periostin stimulation in vitro. Methods Synoviocytes（5⊠105 cells╱mL）derived from an osteoarthritis patient were stimulated with 100 ng╱mL periostin in the presence of various concentrations of HA for 24 hours. The levels of NO in culture supernatants was examined by NO2╱NO3 assay kits. To examine the influence of HA on transcription factor, NF︱κB, activation and iNOS mRNA expression, synoviocytes（5⊠105 cells╱mL）were also cultured in a similar manner for 4 and 12 hours, respectively. The levels of both mRNA expression and transcription factor activation were measured by ELISA. Results Addition of HA into cell cultures caused the suppression of periostin︱induced NO production from synoviocytes. The minimum concentration that caused significant suppression of NO production was 5.0 mg╱mL. HA at more than 5.0 mg╱mL also inhibited iNOS mRNA expression and NF︱κB activation, which were increased by periostin stimulation in synoviocytes. Conclusion These results strongly suggest that HA favorably modify the clinical condition of osteoarthritis patients through the suppression of NO production from synoviocytes after periostin stimulation.