Objectives: Osteoarthritis (OA) is a chronic degenerative disorder of the joint characterized by cartilage breakdown and synovial inflammation. A number of different cells of innate and adaptive immunity contribute to joint pathology during OA inflammation. The interaction between the local synovial and systemic inflammatory cellular response and the structural changes in the joint is still unknown. The objective of this study was to investigate the role of the different types of immune cells in the development of OA.
Methods: Collagenase-induced osteoarthritis was induced in Balb/c mice; flow cytometry analysis; and histopathological damages were assessed in histological sections stained with H&E, Toluidine blue, and Safranin O.
Results: Flow cytometry analysis showed B lymphocyte infiltration in the active phase of inflammation and an increase in the effector T cell population into the synovium. An increased activation state of cytotoxic T cells and of NK cell populations in the spleen and synovium was also found. The differentiation of NK cells from a cytotoxic phenotype in early OA to cells with an effector phenotype in the chronic phase of the disease followed.
Conclusions: A number of different cells contribute to inflammatory processes in OA. The correlation between their phenotype and the inflammatory pathophysiology could result in the development of novel approaches to suppress destructive changes in the joint.
Keywords: collagenase; experimental osteoarthritis; inflammation; mouse model.