Icariin-conditioned serum engineered with hyaluronic acid promote repair of articular cartilage defects in rabbit knees

Abstract

Background Osteochondral defects mostly occur as a result of trauma or articular degeneration. The poor regenerative ability of articular cartilage remains osteochondral defects are a tricky problem to deal with. The modern treatment strategies mainly focus on cartilage tissue engineering with bioactive materials. In this study, we aimed to develop icariin conditioned serum (ICS) together with hyaluronic acid (HA) and determine their ability in reparing osteochondral tissue in a critical-sized defect in rabbit knees. Methods Primary chondrocytes were incubated with serum conditioned with icariin at different concentrations, then cell proliferation rates and glycosaminoglycan (GAG) secretion were detected. Rabbits were treated with intra-articular injection of 0.5 mL normal saline (NS), ICS, HA and ICS + HA in the right knee joint, respectively. ICRS scores were used to assess the macroscopic cartilage regeneration. Histological and immunohistochemical analysis including H&E, Safranin O, toluidine blue and collagen II staining were used to determine the repair of cartilage and the regeneration of chondrocytes. Results Icariin at a low dose of 0.94 g/kg was identified to have significantly promoted the proliferation of chondrocytes and enhance the secretion of GAG. Femoral condyle from rabbits treated by ICS together with HA was observed to be integrated with native cartilage and more subchondral bone regeneration. ICS together with HA could promote repair of the cartilage defect and increase the neoformation of cartilage. Conclusions These results demonstrated the potential of ICS combined with HA to promote reparative response in cartilage defects and the possible application in bioactive material based cartilage regeneration therapies. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s12906-019-2570-0) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Herbal Remedies as Potential in Cartilage Tissue Engineering: An Overview of New Therapeutic Approaches and Strategies

“…Moreover, after transplantation into a mouse model, the icariin-loaded 3D hydrogel culture of chondrocyte alginate hydrogel significantly improved osteochondral defects and increased articular chondrocyte repair, as shown by higher histological scores [82]; additionally, in an in vitro study with a highly porous 3D scaffold based on sodium alginate and gelatin in 3D printing, icariin significantly promoted the proliferation of chondrocytes [79]. Additionally, in an in vivo study on the anterior cruciate ligament of the mouse in which a model of OA and a micro mass culture of mouse chondrocytes were induced, treatment with icariin resulted in an increased cartilage thickness; an upregulated expression of COL2A1; a reduced chondrocyte hypertrophy; a downregulated expression of collagen type X and MMP13; an upregulated expression of AGC, SOX9, and parathyroid hormone related proteins (PHrP); and a down-regulation of Indian hedgehog (Ihh) and genes regulated by Ihh [83][84][85].…”

Bioactive Herbal Extracts of Traditional Chinese Medicine Applied with the Biomaterials: For the Current Applications and Advances in the Musculoskeletal System

“…The development of tissue engineering technology has brought hope to the regeneration of articular cartilage. Icariin at a low dose of 0.94 G/kg was identified to have significantly promoted the proliferation of chondrocytes and enhance the secretion of glycosaminoglycan (Zhang et al, 2019). Femoral condyle from rabbits treated with icariin conditioned serum and hyaluronic acid was observed to regenerate more native cartilage and subchondral bone regeneration.…”

Effects of icariin on the proliferation and osteogenic differentiation of human amniotic mesenchymal stem cells

“…Icariin (ICA), as the main active compound of Epimedium pubescens , was reportedly used to cure bone diseases in ancient China [ 10 ]. And it could promote an agent in cartilage tissue engineering [ 11 ] and repair of articular cartilage defects in rabbit knees [ 12 ]. It has been found the beneficial effects of ICA is to exert an inducing function on the osteogenic differentiation [ 13 ] and stimulate the bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cell (BMSC) proliferation in stem cell therapy [ 14 ].…”