Hyaluronic Acid Loaded with Cerium Oxide Nanoparticles as Antioxidant in Hydrogen Peroxide Induced Chondrocytes Injury: An In Vitro Osteoarthritis Model.

Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common joint disease type and is accompanied by varying degrees of functional limitation. Both hyaluronic acid (HA) joint injections and pain relievers are efficient treatments for early-stage osteoarthritis. However, for the decomposition by hyaluronidase and free radicals in the knee joint, HA injection treatment has limited effect time. The cerium oxide nanoparticles (CeO) is a long time free radical scavenger. CeO combined with HA expected, may extend the HA decomposition time and have a positive effect on osteoarthritis therapy. In this study, CeO was successfully synthesized using the hydrothermal method with a particle size of about 120 nm, which possessed excellent dispersibility in the culture medium. The in vitro OA model was established by cell treated with HO for 30 min. Our study found that the inhibition of chondrocyte proliferation dose-dependently increased with HO concentration but was significantly decreased by supplementation of cerium oxide nanoparticles. COL2a1 and ACAN gene expression in chondrocytes was significantly decreased after HO treatment; however, the tendency was changed after cerium oxide nanoparticles treatment, which suggested that damaged chondrocytes were protected against oxidative stress. These findings suggest that cerium oxide nanoparticles are potential therapeutic applications in the early stage of OA.