Modulation of endogenous osteogenic protein-1 (OP-1) by interleukin-1 in adult human articular cartilage.

BACKGROUND

Osteogenic protein-1 (OP-1, BMP-7) induces bone formation and cartilage growth. Since OP-1 is an anabolic factor expressed by human articular chondrocytes, we examined the response of endogenous OP-1 to interleukin-1beta (IL-1beta) in human articular cartilage.

METHODS

Normal adult human articular cartilage explants were cultured for twenty-five days in the presence of medium only or were treated with a low dose (0.1 ng/mL) or high dose (1.0 ng/mL) of IL-1beta for forty-eight or ninety-six hours. Alternately, cartilage explants were cultured forty-eight hours with IL-1beta, followed by forty-eight hours in standard medium (recovery). Tissue was analyzed for OP-1 message (by means of the reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction), protein (by means of enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and Western blot analysis) and proteoglycan content. Medium was analyzed for released proteoglycans and OP-1.

RESULTS

In the presence of medium, OP-1 maintained its steady state of mRNA and protein expression for as long as twenty-five days in culture. A low dose of IL-1beta led to some upregulation in message and a twofold (p < 0.02) increase in OP-1 protein characterized by enhanced processing and activation of OP-1. Removal of IL-1beta (recovery experiments) did not reverse its effect on OP-1 synthesis. A high dose of IL-1beta caused stronger upregulation of message and a twofold decrease in OP-1 protein content (p < 0.007) in the cartilage matrix. However, this decrease in the matrix was primarily due to a release of active OP-1 into the medium. After removal of the 1.0-ng/mL IL-1beta, the levels of OP-1 protein did not recover.

CONCLUSION

The results of the present study indicate that human adult chondrocytes have an ability to respond anabolically to initial or early catabolic events through an upregulation of endogenous OP-1.