• Dinghua Jiang, Jun Zou, Lixin Huang, Qin Shi, Xuesong Zhu, Genlin Wang, and Huilin Yang.
• Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, 188 Shizi St., Suzhou, Jiangsu 215006, China; E-Mails: zoujun105@126.com (D.H.J.); jzou@suda.edu.cn (J.Z.); qshisz@gmail.com (Q.S.); zhuxs@126.com (X.S.Z.); wglpaper@126.com (G.L.W.); hlyang@suda.edu.cn (H.L.Y.).
• Int J Mol Sci. 2010 Jan 1;11(10):4106-13.

IntroductionOsteoarthritis is the most common form of arthritis. It is a slowly progressive joint disease typically seen in middle-age to elderly people. Intra-articular injection of hyaluronic acid is a well-documented treatment for knee osteoarthritis. Celebrex(®) (celecoxib) is a novel nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug, which could help to reduce inflammation and to reduce pain. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of intra-articular injection of celecoxib in a rabbit osteoarthritis model.MethodsThirty New Zealand white rabbits underwent unilateral knee joint surgery using the Hulth technique. Six weeks post-surgery, the animals were randomly divided into three groups, and each group was respectively given weekly intra-articular injections with Celebrex(®), hyaluronic acid and saline. On the sixth week, the results were assessed in rabbit models by gross observation, histological evaluation, and expression of IL-1β, TNF-α, MMP-3.ResultsIn the group given Celebrex(®) and hyaluronic acid, the pathological changes in the rabbit articular cartilage improved significantly, much more than in the saline group. The statistically significant suppression of IL-1β, TNF-α, MMP-3 was shown in the Celebrex group. No significant differences were detected between two treatment groups.ConclusionsIntra-articular injection of celecoxib is beneficial for knee osteoarthritis. It might repair and protect early osteoarthritis cartilage by delaying cartilage degeneration and impairing the function of inflammatory mediators, therefore, intra-articular injection of celecoxib can be used as an alternative to the current treatment of osteoarthritis.

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