THE PHARMACEUTIC CAPITALIZATION OF A NATURAL, MARINE ACTIVE PRINCIPLE THROUGH IN VITRO ANTI-CITOKINIC AND PROLIFERATIVE MECHANISMS OF HC-OA OSTEOARTHRITIC CHONDROCYTES

Osteoarthritis (OA) as a multi-factorial disease that features interrelated mechanisms (senescence/ apoptosis, proliferation, decreased synthesis of matrix proteins, activation of degrading enzymes, inflammation) and a diversity of cells involved in bone and cartilage metabolism: chondrocytes, osteoblasts, osteoclasts etc. A complete pharmaceutical solution remains an unsolved question in this interdisciplinary field of research. We focused our approach on osteoarthritic primary chondrocytes HC-OA (Cell Application), exploring on this primary cell line the small sea fish extract’s potential to improve the proliferation rate and to stop the cytokines pro-inflammatory signaling. Previous research results have shown an important therapeutic potential of the small sea fish extract, restoring the intrinsic functionality of the cartilage through its correlative effects: antioxidant and anti-inflammatory action, stimulatory activity of cell proliferation and matriceal proteins homeostasis. In the context of pro-inflammatory and degradative stimulation with IL1β, the small sea fish extract prove a counteracting “in vitro” effect, restoring the proliferative capacity of HCOA cells and inhibiting the IL8 release, with implication in several cartilage degradation pathways: MMP13 activation, neutrophils’ accumulation, synovium leucocytes activation, as well as the hypertrophic and differentiation processes of chondrocytes