| Objective: To investigate the in vivo effects of cilostazol on knee joints during the development of experimentally induced osteoarthritis(OA).Methods: Fifty Sprague-Dawley rats (male,8week old) underwent anterior cruciate ligament transection (ACLT), and one group administered cilostazol orally then all animals were killed4and8weeks after surgery. The knee joints were assessed by gross morphologic, histologic real-time quantitative PCR methods.Results: Gross morphologic inspection and histologic evaluation showed that the femoral condyles, which received cilostazol treatment demonstrated less severe cartilage damage than control group. Gene expression of MMP-3, MMP-13, ADAMTS-4and ADAMTS-5was significantly reduced in the cartilage of cilostazol-treated knee joints.Conclusions: Our results indicate the potential cartilage-protective effects of cilostazol in the pathophysiology of OA. |
