针刺对膝骨关节炎大鼠软骨白细胞介素-1β及肿瘤坏死因子-α表达的影响

目的：探讨针刺对骨关节炎（OA）软骨中炎性细胞因子的影响作用。方法：选用SD雌性大鼠40只,采用随机数字表,随机分为正常组、模型组、针刺组和对照组,各10只。采用单侧后肢跟腱切除法建立OA动物模型,切除左后肢跟腱,分别采用电针和扶他林乳剂对针刺组和对照组非手术侧（右后肢）进行治疗。采用免疫组化技术,观察各组关节软骨中白细胞介素-1β（IL-1β）、肿瘤坏死因子-α（TNF-α）表达的特点,并比较各组间的差异。结果：模型组IL-1β和TNF-α的表达都较正常组上调（P〈0.01）;模型组、针刺组和对照组3组比较,IL-1β和TNF-α的表达差异有统计学意义,针刺组和对照组的表达均较模型组下调（P〈0.01）,两者在针刺组与对照组的表达差异无统计学意义（P〉0.05）。结论：针刺能下调OA软骨细胞IL-1β、TNF-α的表达,与扶他林乳剂作用相当,说明针刺对OA软骨具有一定的保护作用。

Influence of acupuncture on IL-1beta and TNF-alpha expression in the cartilage of rats with knee osteoarthritis

Objective：To explore the influence of acupuncture treatment on proinflammatory cytokines of osteoarthritic（OA） cartilage. Methods：Forty female SD rats were randomly and averagely divided into four groups：the normal,model,acupuncture and control group. The method of heel tendon resection for unilateral hind limb was used to establish OA animal models—that was to cut off the rat＇s heel tendon of left hind limb. The acupuncture group and control group were respectively treated by electro-acupuncture and Diclofenac on right hind limb of each animal for 2 weeks. Immunohistochemical staining was used to observe the expression characteristic of IL-1β and TNF-α in cartilage of each group,and the differences were compared among the groups. Results：Both IL-1β and TNF-α expression in model group were significantly up-regulated than those in the normal group（P0.01）. Their expression in model,acupuncture and control group were significantly different（P0.01）. IL-1β and TNF-α expression were significantly down-regulated in acupuncture and control group than that in model group（P0.01）,while the difference between the two former groups was not significant（P0.05）. Conclusion：Acupuncture can down-regulate the expression of IL-1β and TNF-α in osteoarthritic chondrocytes,and the regulating effect is the same as Diclofenac. This shows that acupuncture has a certain protective effect on osteoarthritic cartilage.