The effects of antioxidant supplements on the inflammatory gene expression of osteoarthritis-like chondrocytes

[[abstract]]Osteoarthritis patients often experience pain and inflammation in joints. To understand whether antioxidant supplements could reduce inflammation and could potentially be applied for osteoarthritis treatment, vitamin E and resveratrol were investigated in this study. Hydrogen peroxide was used for inducing inflammation in porcine chondrocytes, and the lumen density was measured for the level of oxygen-derived free radicals. In total, 5, 50, 100, and 200 mu M of vitamin E and resveratrol were analyzed for cell viability and the effect of lumen density. In addition, the expressions of IL-1 beta, TNF-alpha, MMP-1, MMP-13, and COL2A1 were investigated when treating chondrocytes with 100 mu M vitamin E, 5 mu M resveratrol, or their combination before or after hydrogen peroxide induction. Inducing chondrocytes with hydrogen peroxide for 30 min increased the level of lumen density sufficiently and stimulated the expression of inflammatory genes. All the concentrations of vitamin E and resveratrol showed good cell viability. Single treatment with either vitamin E or resveratrol reduced inflammatory gene expression, and combined treatment increased the expression of collagen type II. The results suggested that post-treatment with both vitamin E and resveratrol has a better effect on the reduction in inflammation in osteoarthritis-like chondrocytes