Open Access

Methylene blue relieves the development of osteoarthritis by upregulating lncRNA MEG3

  • Authors:
    • Xinyi Li
    • Chaoliang Tang
    • Jin Wang
    • Peipei Guo
    • Chengyao Wang
    • Yanlin Wang
    • Zongze Zhang
    • Huisheng Wu
  • View Affiliations

  • Published online on: March 2, 2018     https://doi.org/10.3892/etm.2018.5918
  • Pages: 3856-3864
  • Copyright: © Li et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of Creative Commons Attribution License.

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Abstract

Methylene blue (MB) is a long‑term inhibitor of peripheral nerve axons, thereby alleviating or permanently eliminating pain. However, it remains unknown whether MB is safe and effective method of treating osteoarthritis (OA). MB was injected into the knee joints of rabbits and they were monitored for any histological structural changes. The results revealed no evident changes in the histological structure of the normal knee joint following injection of 1 mg/kg MB at 1, 4, 8 and 24 weeks post‑injection. Compared with the vehicle control, MB treatment significantly enhanced the weight distribution and significantly decreased the swelling ratio of the rabbits. Additionally, levels of long non‑coding RNA (lncRNA) maternally expressed 3 (MEG3) mRNA were significantly increased following treatment with MB, but the protein expression of P2X purinoceptor 3 (P2X3) was significantly suppressed compared with the vehicle control. The levels of interleukin (IL) 6, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)α, IL‑1β and IL‑8 were significantly suppressed following MB treatment, indicating that MB protects against OA progression. It was also revealed that MEG3 overexpression significantly suppresses levels of P2X3 protein. ELISA indicated that the MEG3‑induced reduction of IL‑6, TNFα, IL‑1β and IL‑8 expression was significantly reversed following P2X3 overexpression. Therefore, the results of the present study demonstrated that MB is an effective method of treating OA‑associated pain by upregulating lncRNA MEG3 levels. Additionally, lncRNA MEG3 relieves the OA-associated pain and inflammation in a rabbit model of OA by inhibiting P2X3 expression.
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April-2018
Volume 15 Issue 4

Print ISSN: 1792-0981
Online ISSN:1792-1015

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Spandidos Publications style
Li X, Tang C, Wang J, Guo P, Wang C, Wang Y, Zhang Z and Wu H: Methylene blue relieves the development of osteoarthritis by upregulating lncRNA MEG3. Exp Ther Med 15: 3856-3864, 2018
APA
Li, X., Tang, C., Wang, J., Guo, P., Wang, C., Wang, Y. ... Wu, H. (2018). Methylene blue relieves the development of osteoarthritis by upregulating lncRNA MEG3. Experimental and Therapeutic Medicine, 15, 3856-3864. https://doi.org/10.3892/etm.2018.5918
MLA
Li, X., Tang, C., Wang, J., Guo, P., Wang, C., Wang, Y., Zhang, Z., Wu, H."Methylene blue relieves the development of osteoarthritis by upregulating lncRNA MEG3". Experimental and Therapeutic Medicine 15.4 (2018): 3856-3864.
Chicago
Li, X., Tang, C., Wang, J., Guo, P., Wang, C., Wang, Y., Zhang, Z., Wu, H."Methylene blue relieves the development of osteoarthritis by upregulating lncRNA MEG3". Experimental and Therapeutic Medicine 15, no. 4 (2018): 3856-3864. https://doi.org/10.3892/etm.2018.5918