Objective Under the guidance of meridian-sinew(jingjin)theory,the correlation between foot-yangming jingjin lesions and X-ray imaging findings such as medial space and lateral space in femorotibial joint and their ratio,degree of subluxation of femorotibial joint,and the Insll-Salvati index in the patients with knee osteoarthritis(KOA).Methods From January 2019 to November 2021,a total of 66 patients diagnosed as KOA at the Third Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine were selected as the study subjects.The patients were divided into the foot-yangming jingjin group and non-foot-yangming jingjin group according to the presence of foot-yangming jingjin lesions.The X-ray postero-anterior and lateral radiography of the knee joint under weight bearing was performed,and imaging parameters of the two groups were measured.Afterwards the pain Visual Analogue Scale(VAS)scores and Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index(WOMAC)scores in the two groups were evaluated,the differences between the two groups'X-ray imaging findings and scale scores were compared,and the various X-ray imaging findings in the two groups were analyzed.Results(1)Under X-ray postero-anterior radiography of the knee joint,the medial space and lateral space in femorotibial joint and their ratio in non-foot-yangming jingjin group were lower than those in foot-yangming jingjin group,and degree of subluxation of femoro-tibial joint was higher than that of foot-yangming jingjin group(P<0.05 or P<0.01).(2)The ratio of length of patellar tendon to length of patella(LT:LP)under X-ray lateral radiography in foot-yangming jingjin group was significantly greater than that of the non-foot-yangming jingjin group(P<0.01).(3)The scores of pain VAS and WOMAC in non-foot-yangming jingjin group were both significantly higher than those in foot-yangming jingjin group(P<0.05),while the differences of the scores of WOMAC items such as joint stiffness and physiologic function,and the total WOMAC scores between the two groups were not statistically significant(P>0.05).Conclusion Foot-yangming jingjin lesions in KOA may be closely related to the relatively high position of patella under X-ray lateral radiography,and non-foot-yangming jingjin lesions may be closely related to the narrowing of the medial femorotibial joint space,the increase of medial-lateral space ratio,and the severity of subluxation under X-ray postero-anterior radiography.

OBJECTIVE： To study the effects of ligustrazine on miR-20b/VEGF and BMP2/Smad1 pathways in subchondral bone of knee osteoarthritis （KOA） model rats， and to investigate the mechanism of ligustrazine for KOA prevention and treatment. METHODS： Totally 18 healthy male SD rats were randomly divided into normal control group， model group and ligustrazine group， with 6 rats in each group. The rats in the latter two groups were used to establish KOA model by intra-articular injection of 4％ papain solution. From the 2nd day after the last injection， ligustrazine group was given intragastrical administration of Ligustrazine suspension （100 mg/kg） 2 mL； normal control group and model group were given intragastrical administration of isometrical normal saline， once a day， for consecutive 6 weeks. After the last after medication， the situation of bilateral knee articular cartilage of rats were observed after exposure. The knee joints of rats were sectioned and stained with HE. The pathological change of articular cartilage were observed by microscope and scored by modified Mankin’s score. mRNA expression of VEGF， BMP2 and Smad1， and the expression of miR-20b were detected by RT-PCR； the protein expression of VEGF， BMP2 and Smad1 were detected by Western blot assay. RESULTS： Model group and ligustrazine group suffered from cartilage injury of knee joint at varying degrees. Compared with normal control group， Mankin’s scores of knee joint and cartilage tissue were increased significantly in model group （P＜0.01）； mRNA and protein expression of BMP and Smad1， the expression of miR-20b in subchondral bone of model group were decreased significantly， while mRNA and protein expression of VEGF were increased significantly （P＜0.01）. Compared with model group， Mankin’s score of cartilage tissue were decreased significantly in ligustrazine group （P＜0.01）； mRNA and protein expression of BMP and Smad1， the expression of miR-20b in subchondral bone were increased significantly， while mRNA and protein expression of VEGF were decreased significantly （P＜0.05 or P＜0.01）. CONCLUSIONS： Ligustrazine can repair damaged articular cartilage in KOA model rats， the mechanism of which may be associated with inhibiting the protein expression of VEGF and activating BMP-2/Smad1 signaling pathway via up-regulating the expression of miR-20b， and promoting the degradation of VEGF mRNA in subchondral bone.