Tougu Xiaotong Capsule promotes repair of osteoarthritis cartilage damage in mice by activating the CXCL12/GDF5 pathway.
10.12122/j.issn.1673-4254.2025.06.02
- Author:
Changlong FU
1
;
Lu XU
1
;
Ruolan CHEN
1
;
Jinghang YANG
1
;
Yan LUO
1
;
Yanfeng HUANG
1
Author Information
1. Sesearch Institute of Integrative Medicine, School of Integrative Medicine, Fujian University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Fuzhou 350122, China.
- Publication Type:Journal Article
- Keywords:
CXCL12/GDF5 pathway;
Tougu Xiaotong Capsule;
cartilage damage;
synovial mesenchymal stem cells
- MeSH:
Animals;
Drugs, Chinese Herbal/therapeutic use*;
Osteoarthritis/metabolism*;
Male;
Growth Differentiation Factor 5/metabolism*;
Mice, Inbred C57BL;
Mice;
Chemokine CXCL12/metabolism*;
Signal Transduction/drug effects*;
Cell Differentiation/drug effects*;
Cartilage, Articular/drug effects*;
Mesenchymal Stem Cells/cytology*
- From:
Journal of Southern Medical University
2025;45(6):1122-1130
- CountryChina
- Language:Chinese
-
Abstract:
OBJECTIVES:To explore the mechanism by which Tougu Xiaotong Capsule (TXC) promotes chondrogenic differentiation and cartilage repair in mice with osteoarthritis (OA).
METHODS:Fifty 8-week-old male C57BL mice were randomly divided into normal control group, cartilage damage (induced by subchondral ring-shaped drilling) model group and TXC treatment groups at low, moderate and high doses (184, 368 and 736 mg/kg, respectively). Saline (in normal control and model groups) and TXC were administered after modeling by daily gavage for 6 consecutive weeks. The changes of cartilage damage in the mice were assessed by measuring thermal withdrawal latency (TWL) and mechanical withdrawal threshold (MWT) and using micro-CT, modified safranine O and fast green staining, HE staining, and qPCR. Primary cultures of mouse synovial mesenchymal stem cells (SMSCs) with lentivirus vector transfection for interfering CXCL12, TXC treatment, or both for 24 h were examined for chondrogenic differentiation using immunofluorescence staining, scratch assay, immunocytochemistry, and Western blotting.
RESULTS:In mouse models with cartilage damage, TXC treatment at the moderate dose significantly alleviated joint pain, promoted cartilage repair, and upregulated the mRNA expression levels of CXCL12, GDF5, collagen II, aggrecan, Comp and Sox9 in the cartilage tissue. In primary mouse SMSCs, CXCL12 knockdown resulted in significant reduction of GDF5 protein expression, migration ability and Sox9 protein expression, and these changes were obviously reversed by TXC treatment.
CONCLUSIONS:TXC promotes chondrogenic differentiation of mouse SMSCs to promote repair of cartilage damage in mice by activating the CXCL12/GDF5 pathway.
