The in vitro effects of dehydroepiandrosterone on chondrocyte metabolism

Objective: To investigate the in vitro effects of dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) on neonatal rat chondrocytes. Design: Chondrocytes isolated from neonatal rat cartilage were cultured in three-dimensionally agarose beads and were treated with DHEA. Methods: Primary culture of chondrocytes was harvested from newborn Wistar rats. The DHEA effects on chondrocyte activities were evaluated by analyzing chondrocyte proliferation, matrix protein synthesis, gene expressions of collagen, matrixmetalloproteinase- 1,-3 and -13 (MMP-1, -3 and -13), and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-II), and protein synthesis of interleukin-6 (IL-6), prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) and tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase-1 (TIMP-1). Results: The DHEA treatment did affect chondrocyte proliferation and glycosaminoglycan (GAG) synthesis. DHEA suppressed the expression of MMP-1, -3 and -13 genes and PGE2 protein synthesis enhanced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) while the COX-II and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) gene expressions were down-regulated by DHEA. Conclusions: Our study demonstrates that DHEA has an ability to modulate the imbalance between MMPs and PGE2 in the neonatal chondrocytes which suggest that it has a potential protective role against articular cartilage damage. (c) 2005 OsteoArthritis Research Society International. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.