Moderate Intensity Treadmill Running Relieves Motion-Induced Post-Traumatic Osteoarthritis Mice by up-Regulating the Expression of lncRNA H19
Abstract Background The purpose of this study was to explore whether moderate-intensity exercise can alleviate motion-induced post-traumatic osteoarthritis (PTOA) and the expression change of lncRNA H19 during this progression.Methods Twenty-week-old male C57BL/6 mice were randomly divided into five groups: model control group (CM group, n = 6), treadmill model group (M group, n = 6), rehabilitation control group (CK group, n = 6), treadmill model + rehabilitation training group (K group, n = 6) and treadmill model + rest group (J group, n = 6). Paraffin sections were used to observe the pathological changes in the mouse knee joint in each group. A micro-CT was used to scan the knee joint to obtain the morphological indexes of tibial plateau bone. Real-time PCR was used to detect the mRNA levels of inflammatory factors, synthetic and catabolic factors in cartilage. Results After high-intensity exercise for four weeks, the inflammation and catabolism of the mouse knee cartilage were enhanced, and the anabolism was weakened. Further study showed that these results were partially reversed after four-week moderate-intensity training. The results of hematoxylin-eosin staining confirmed this finding. Meanwhile, high-intensity exercise reduced the expression of lncRNA H19 in cartilage, while the expression of lncRNA H19 increased after four weeks of moderate-intensity exercise.Conclusion High-intensity treadmill running can cause injury to the knee cartilage in C57BL/6 mice which leads to PTOA and an decrease of lncRNA H19 expression in cartilage. Moderate-intensity exercise can relieve PTOA and partially reverse lncRNA H19 expression.