Triamcinolone acetonide has minimal effect on short- and long-term metabolic activities of cartilage

Intra-articular corticosteroid injections, such as triamcinolone acetonide (TA), are commonly used by clinicians to manage joint synovial inflammation. However, due to conflicting evidence in literature, there is a fear among clinicians that the injections may be harmful to otherwise healthy cartilage in young patients. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of TA on young, healthy chondrocytes. Articular cartilage samples were harvested from bovine knee joints (1-2 months old). In both healthy and inflammatory (interleukin-1β) challenged cartilage, samples were treated with TA at doses ranging from 1 nM to 200 μM. Following a short- (2 days) or long-term (10-14 days) treatment, chondrocyte viability, proliferation, and extracellular matrix (ECM) synthesis and degradation were evaluated with a click chemistry-based technique. Chondrocyte viability, proliferation, and anabolic activity were all minimally affected by short-term and long-term TA treatment. After both acute and sustained inflammatory challenges, TA reduced the catabolic activities in cartilage, reducing nascent glycosaminoglycan loss and maintaining cartilage mechanical properties. Overall, at physiologically relevant doses, TA had minimal negative impact on chondrocytes when maintained within their native ECM. Clinical significance: The findings provide new insight for current clinical practices concerning the use of TA in intra-articular injections, especially in young patients, and established a foundation for future investigations into the impact of corticosteroids on joint homeostasis.