Objective. Caspases, cysteine proteases traditionally associated with apoptosis and inflammation, have recently been identified as important regulators of autophagy and reported within the growth plate, a cartilaginous part of the developing bone. The aim of this research was to identify novel autophagy-related molecules affected by inhibition of pro-apoptotic caspases in chondrocytes. Design. Chondrocyte micromasses derived from mouse limb buds were treated with pharmacological inhibitors of caspases. Autophagy-related gene expression was examined and possible novel molecules were confirmed by real-time polymerase chain reaction and immunocytofluorescence. Individual caspases inhibitors were used to identify the effect of specific caspases. Results. Chondrogenesis accompanied by caspase activation and autophagy progression was confirmed in micromass cultures. Expression of several autophagy-associated genes was significantly altered in the caspases inhibitors treated groups with the most prominent decrease for Pik3cg and increase of Tnfsf10. The results showed the specific pro-apoptotic caspases that play a role in these effects. Importantly, use of caspase inhibitors mimicked changes triggered by an autophagy stimulator, rapamycin, linking loss of caspase activity to an increase in autophagy. Conclusion. Caspase inhibition significantly affects regulation of autophagy-related genes in chondrocytes cultures. Detected markers are of importance in diagnostics and thus the data presented here open new perspectives in the field of cartilage development and degradation.

客观。半胱天冬酶，传统上与​​细胞凋亡和炎症相关的半胱氨酸蛋白酶，最近已被确定为自噬的重要调节剂，并在生长板（发育中骨骼的软骨部分）中报道。本研究的目的是鉴定受抑制软骨细胞中促凋亡半胱天冬酶影响的新型自噬相关分子。设计。用半胱天冬酶的药理学抑制剂处理源自小鼠肢芽的软骨细胞微团。检测了自噬相关基因的表达，并通过实时聚合酶链反应和免疫细胞荧光确认了可能的新分子。使用单个半胱天冬酶抑制剂来鉴定特定半胱天冬酶的作用。结果. 在微量培养物中证实了伴随着半胱天冬酶激活和自噬进展的软骨形成。在半胱天冬酶抑制剂治疗组中，几个自噬相关基因的表达显着改变，其中 Pik3cg 的下降和 Tnfsf10 的增加最为显着。结果显示了在这些作用中起作用的特定促凋亡半胱天冬酶。重要的是，半胱天冬酶抑制剂的使用模拟了自噬刺激剂雷帕霉素引发的变化，将半胱天冬酶活性的丧失与自噬的增加联系起来。结论. Caspase 抑制显着影响软骨细胞培养物中自噬相关基因的调节。检测到的标志物在诊断中很重要，因此这里提供的数据为软骨发育和退化领域开辟了新的视角。