Introduction
Glucosamine has been used in the treatment of osteoarthritis (OA) for several years. More recently, collagen fragments were shown to provide a positive effect on joint health. The objective of this study was to investigate the efficacy of a specific type of collagen hydrolysate (CH) on the biosynthesis of ECM macromolecules in comparison with glucosamine sulfate (GS) and glucosamine
... [Show full abstract] hydrochloride (GH) in a chondrocyte culture model.
Materials & Methods
Primary porcine articular and human femoral chondrocytes were cultured under reduced oxygen conditions. The culture medium was supplemented with various concentrations of CH. In parallel experiments chondrocytes were treated with either GS or GH. At the end of the culture period the amount of cell-associated proteoglycans (PGs) and the extent of PG synthesis were quantified by measuring 35S-sulfate incorporation. In addition, type II collagen biosynthesis was quantified by 14C-proline incorporation. The amount of aggrecan and type II collagen accumulated in the extracellular matrix (ECM) were determined by Western Blotting.
Results
Supplementation of the culture medium with CH resulted in a statistically significant (p<0.05) increase of PG synthesis. The amount of cell-associated PGs was almost doubled after CH treatment, compared with the control cells. Administration of CH was also associated with increased aggrecan expression and a statistically significant (p<0.05) 1.5-fold increase of type II collagen biosynthesis. In contrast, the administration of GS or GH had no stimulatory effect on the type II collagen biosynthesis of the chondrocytes. Moreover, supplementation of glucosamine had no significant effect on the amount of cell-associated PGs compared to the controls.
Conclusion
These results indicate a stimulatory effect of CH on the synthesis of PG and type II collagen. In contrast, GS and GH failed to stimulate the synthesis of ECM macromolecules by chondrocytes.
These data suggest that CH may help reduce degenerative changes of the ECM by stimulating anabolic processes in cartilage tissue.