Poster 1: Cell and Tissue Studies

Ying Peng, Asma Arshad, Shuo Wei, X. Lucas Lu

University of Delaware

Resveratrol (trans-3,5,4’-trihydroxystilbene) is a natural polyphenol present in human diet such as red grapes, blueberries, and peanuts. Over 200 clinical trials in the US are studying resveratrol’s health benefits for patients with cardiovascular disease, cancer and other diseases. Animal studies have shown that resveratrol can ameliorate inflammatory damage on joint tissues and prevent the initiation of post-traumatic osteoarthritis. Inflammation also impacts meniscus metabolism, and the subsequent meniscus degeneration contributes to the onset and the progression of osteoarthritis. The aim of this study is to test if resveratrol can protect meniscus from inflammatory challenge and investigate the potential protective mechanisms. We use meniscus explants harvested from bovine knee joint for this study. Resveratrol was applied to the explants to study its effects on anabolic activity, and catabolic activity under IL-1? treatment, of menisci cells. The interacts of resveratrol with meniscus extracellular matrix and catabolic enzyme were investigated for mechanism studies. Our results shown that resveratrol has protective effects on meniscus by (1) improving the anabolic activities of menisci cells; (2) interacting directly with collagen fibers and protect them from enzymatic digestion, and (3) inhibiting the activity of catabolic enzyme, such as matrix metalloproteinases (MMP) 13.

Research Area: Meniscus