| Summary: | Objectives: We aimed to determine whether bone remodeling and vessel formation in the osteochondral unit are suppressed by supplementing with docosahexaenoic acid in anterior cruciate ligament transection (ACLT)-induced rats. Methods: Twelve-week-old male Sprague Dawley rats were randomized to sham-operated, ACLT-operated and treated with vehicle, or ACLT-operated and treated with DHA groups. Micro-architecture and vasculature in the tibial osteochondral unit were examined by micro-CT, as well as by histomorphometry. To evaluate the effects of DHA in vitro, we conducted functional and expressional assays in RAW264.7 cells and HUVECs. Finally, we used OARSI-modified Mankin criteria and histological analyses to assess the status of the cartilage layer. Results: Microstructural parameters in the osteochondral unit showed that bone mass loss and angiogenesis were less in DHA-treated rats than in vehicle-treated rats. Immunofluorescence-positive cells labeled with TRAP, RANKL, CD31, and endomucin agents in the osteochondral unit of ACLT-operated rats were reduced in the DHA-treated group compared with the vehicle-treated group. Furthermore, the number of TRAP-stained cells, areas of bone resorption pits, and mRNA expression of TRAP, CTSK, MITF, and NFATC1 were reduced in RAW264.7 cells treated with RANKL + DHA compared with those treated with only RANKL. Tube formation, proliferation and migration of HUVECs, and VEGF-C mRNA and VEGFR2 protein expression were inhibited by DHA. The decrease in OARSI score, and MMP-13 and collagen X expression suggested that DHA attenuated cartilage degeneration. Conclusions: DHA has the ability to restrain bone remodeling and vessel formation in the osteochondral unit, which may contribute to protection of cartilage.
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