The antidiabetic agent metformin inhibits fibrosis in various organs. This study aims to elucidate the effects of hyperglycaemia and metformin on knee joint capsule fibrosis in mice. Eight-week-old wild-type (WT) and type 2 diabetic (db/db) mice were divided into four groups without or with metformin treatment (WT met(-/+), Db met(-/+)). Mice received daily intraperitoneal administration of metformin and were killed at 12 and 14 weeks of age. Fibrosis morphology and its related genes and proteins were evaluated. Fibroblasts were extracted from the capsules of 14-week-old mice, and the expression of fibrosis-related genes in response to glucose and metformin was evaluated in vitro.Aims
Methods
The goal of this study was to determine whether intra-articular
administration of the potentially anti-fibrotic agent decorin influences
the expression of genes involved in the fibrotic cascade, and ultimately
leads to less contracture, in an animal model. A total of 18 rabbits underwent an operation on their right knees
to form contractures. Six limbs in group 1 received four intra-articular
injections of decorin; six limbs in group 2 received four intra-articular
injections of bovine serum albumin (BSA) over eight days; six limbs
in group 3 received no injections. The contracted limbs of rabbits
in group 1 were biomechanically and genetically compared with the
contracted limbs of rabbits in groups 2 and 3, with the use of a
calibrated joint measuring device and custom microarray, respectively.Objectives
Methods