Tropical Journal of Pharmaceutical Research

Original Research Article | OPEN ACCESS

Protective effect of buganjianyao decoction against IL-1?-induced degeneration of endplate chondrocytes in rats via NF-κB signaling pathway

Xuyi Tan^1,2, Xiangzhong Qiu¹ , Xincheng Zhang¹, Jie Qiu¹, Hao Tang¹, Fan Xue¹, Hao Deng²

¹Affiliated Hospital of Hunan Academy of Chinese Medical Science, Changsha; ²Hunan University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Hunan, Changsha, China.

For correspondence:- Xiangzhong Qiu Email: qihu330@sina.com Tel:+8673188884839

Accepted: 26 October 2020 Published: 30 November 2020

Citation: Tan X, Qiu X, Zhang X, Qiu J, Tang H, Xue F, et al. Protective effect of buganjianyao decoction against IL-1?-induced degeneration of endplate chondrocytes in rats via NF-κB signaling pathway. Trop J Pharm Res 2020; 19(11):2255-2263 doi: 10.4314/tjpr.v19i11.2

© 2020 The authors.
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Abstract

Purpose: To investigate the protective effect of buganjianyao decoction (BJD) against IL-1β-induced degeneration of endplate chondrocytes in a rat model, and the underlying mechanism of action.

Methods: Rat endplate chondrocytes were cultured in 6-well tissue culture plates. Two types of serum were used: normal serum and BJD-containing serum. The endplate chondrocytes were grouped as follows: blank group given 0.5 % FBS, induced group treated with 0.5 % volume fraction of IL-1β (10 μg/L), normal serum groups treated with 5, 10 and 20 % volume fractions of normal serum, and BJD serum groups treated with 5, 10 and 20 % volume fractions of BJD-containing serum. Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8) assay was used to measure the proliferation of endplate chondrocytes. The expressions of aggrecan and matrix metalloproteinase-3(MMP-3) were determined by ELISA, while reverse transcription quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) was used to assay the mRNA expressions of IκB kinaseα (IKKα) and NF-κB p65. Western blotting was used measure the protein expressions of IKKα and NF-κB p65.

Results: Compared with normal serum group treated with a similar volume fraction, the proliferation capacity and aggrecan expression of BJD serum group increased at 24 h and 48 h post-treatment, while expressions of MMP-3, IKKα and NF-κB p65 decreased. The effects were more pronounced in the 20 % volume fraction of BJD serum group than in the other groups.

Conclusion: BJD exerts protective effect against IL-1β-induced degeneration of endplate chondrocytes via inhibition of the NF-κB signaling pathway. This finding provides an experimental basis for the potential development of BJD for the treatment of DDD.

Keywords: Buganjianyao decoction, Endplate chondrocytes, Aggrecan, Matrix metalloproteinase-3, Nuclear factor-kappa B