Basic Study
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2019. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Clin Cases. Jun 6, 2019; 7(11): 1262-1269
Published online Jun 6, 2019. doi: 10.12998/wjcc.v7.i11.1262
Elevated levels of interleukin-1β, interleukin-6, tumor necrosis factor-α and vascular endothelial growth factor in patients with knee articular cartilage injury
Zhen-Wei Wang, Le Chen, Xiao-Rui Hao, Zhen-An Qu, Shi-Bo Huang, Xiao-Jun Ma, Jian-Chuan Wang, Wei-Ming Wang
Zhen-Wei Wang, Le Chen, Xiao-Rui Hao, Zhen-An Qu, Shi-Bo Huang, Xiao-Jun Ma, Jian-Chuan Wang, Wei-Ming Wang, Department of Sports Medicine, Affiliated Zhongshan Hospital of Dalian University, Dalian 16000, Liaoning Province, China
Author contributions: Wang ZW performed the majority of experiments and analyzed the data; Chen L, Hao XR, Ou ZA, Huang SB, Ma XJ and Wang JC performed the experiments; Wang WM designed the research and wrote the paper.
Institutional review board statement: This study has been approved by the ethnic committee of Affiliated Zhongshan Hospital of Dalian University.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All authors have no conflict-of-interest to state.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Wei-Ming Wang, BSc, MD, PhD, Professor, Department of Sports Medicine, Affiliated Zhongshan Hospital of Dalian University, 6 Jiefang Jie, Zhongshan District, Dalian 116001, Liaoning Province, China. wangwm_01@126.com
Telephone: +86-411-62893145 Fax: +86-411-62893145
Received: February 22, 2019
Peer-review started: February 24, 2019
First decision: March 10, 2019
Revised: March 20, 2019
Accepted: April 8, 2019
Article in press: April 9, 2019
Published online: June 6, 2019
ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS
Research background

Inflammatory cytokines play a vital role in the occurrence of osteoarticular injury and inflammation. Whether inflammation-associated factors interleukin-1β (IL-1β), IL-6, tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) are involved in the pathogenesis of keen articular cartilage injury remains poorly understood.

Research motivation

The main topic is the inflammatory cytokines in knee articular cartilage injury.

Research objectives

To measure the levels of inflammatory factors [IL-1β, IL-6, TNF-α and VEGF] in patients with knee articular cartilage injury.

Research methods

Fifty-five patients with knee articular cartilage injury were selected as the patients groups, and were divided into three grades [mild (n = 20), moderate (n = 19) and severe (n = 16)] according to disease severity and X-ray examinations. Meanwhile, 30 healthy individuals who underwent physical examination were selected as the control group. The levels of IL-1β, IL-6, TNF-α and VEGF were measured by ELISA and immunohistochemical staining.

Research results

Compared with the control group, the patients group displayed significantly higher levels of IL-1β, IL-6, TNF-α and VEGF, and the extent of increase was directly proportional to the severity of injury (P < 0.05). In addition, the number of cells with positive staining of IL-1β, IL-6, TNF-α and VEGF in the synovial membrane was significantly increased, along with an increase in disease severity (P < 0.05). After treatment, the scores of visual analogue scale (VAS) and the Western Ontario and McMaster University of Orthopaedic Index in the patient group were 2.26 ± 1.13 and 15.56 ± 7.12 points, respectively, which were significantly lower than those before treatment (6.98 ± 1.32 and 49.48 ± 8.96). The correlation analysis suggested that IL-1β and TNF-α were positively correlated with VEGF.

Research conclusions

IL-1β, IL-6, TNF-α and VEGF levels are increased in patients with knee articular cartilage injury, and are associated with disease severity. This indicates that they might play an important role in the occurrence and development of knee articular cartilage injury. In addition, therapeutically targeting them might be a novel approach for the treatment of keen articular cartilage injury.

Research perspectives

Abnormal levels of IL-1β, IL-6, TNF-α and VEGF were found in patients with knee articular cartilage injury, indicating that they might be novel therapeutic targets for the treatment of knee articular cartilage injury.