Protective Effects of 5,7,3’,4’-Tetramethoxyflavone on Proliferation of Rat Chondrocytes Induced by IL-1β

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a degenerative joint disease that affects millions of people. Currently, there is no effective drug treatment for it. The purpose of this study is to investigate the chondroprotective effects of 5,7,3’,4’- tetramethoxyflavone in isolated cartilage chondrocytes cultured pre-treatment by IL-1β. The results showed that 5,7,3’,4’- tetramethoxyflavone could significantly down regulate the concentration of MMP-13, but up regulate the expression of TIMP-1, increase the proliferative activity of rat chondrocytes.