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Updated: Feb 5, 2026

A 3D System for Culturing Human Articular Chondrocytes in Synovial Fluid
Published on: January 31, 2012
Abietic acid attenuates IL-1β-induced inflammation in human osteoarthritis chondrocytes
Sining Kang1, Jun Zhang1, Ye Yuan1
1Department of orthopedic, The First Hospital of Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, Shanxi 030001, China.
Abstract:
Abietic acid has been reported to have anti-inflammatory activity. However, whether abietic acid has anti-inflammatory effects against osteoarthritis (OA) remains unclear. The present study aimed to measure the anti-inflammatory effects of abietic acid on OA in vitro. Human osteoarthritis chondrocytes were pretreated with abietic acid 1 h before IL-1β treatment. The results showed that treatment of abietic acid significantly inhibited IL-1β-induced TNF-α, NO, PGE2 production, and COX-2 expression. Abietic acid also concentration-dependently suppressed MMP1, MMP3, and MMP13 production induced by IL-1β. Moreover, the increased phosphorylation levels of NF-κB p65 and IκBα were inhibited by the treatment of abietic acid. We also found that the expression of PPAR-γ was increased by abietic acid. The inhibition of abietic acid on TNF-α, NO, and PGE2 production were reversed by GW9662, the inhibitor of PPAR-γ. In conclusion, the study elucidated abietic acid suppressed IL-1β-induced inflammation in human osteoarthritis chondrocytes by activating PPAR-γ.
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