Degradation of Extracellular Matrix Molecules in Interleukin-1 Alpha Treated Bovine Nasal Cartilage

Background: This work aimed to show and compare the degradation time of some of cartilage extracellular matrix components using an in vitro model for cartilage degradation induced by interleukin-1 alpha. It is known that elucidation of molecular events under Interleukin-1 alpha induction of bovine nasal cartilage could obtain useful data to understand more about involving mechanisms for tissue breakdown in joint disease. Methods: The cartilage was taken from an adult bovine in a local slaughterhouse. After removing the whole perichondrium, the equal 2 mm diameter pieces of bovine nasal cartilage were punched out and cultured in Dulbecco's modified Eagle's medium DMEM with or without 10 ng/ml Interleukin-1 alpha for 24 days. Each 3 days, the media were removed and exchanged by fresh media, and the removed media were stored in -20C. Sodium dodecyl sulphate/polyacrylamid-gel electrophoresis SDS-PAGE and Western-blot methods were used for analyzing the samples. Results: The first fragment of fibromodulin (FM) was seen at day 6 and further fragments were appeared at day 18. Cartilage oligomeric matrix protein (COMP) releasing was as a successive pattern during culture period and the first fragment was found at day 6. Collagen IX fragments were seen at day 9 and in a progressive pattern until the end of the study. Conclusion: This study shows that FM and COMP could be considered as the suitable candidates for studying the mechanisms that participate in the cartilage degradations.