Osteoarthritis is a chronic degenerative joint disease and its signs of progress mainly attribute to the significant increase of joint friction and the destruction of articular cartilage. Combined cartilage repair and joint lubrication may be a feasible strategy for the treatment of osteoarthritis. In this study, the hydroxypropyl chitin (HPCH)/hyaluronic acid (HA) hydrogel, prepared by physical mixing of HA and HPCH, was designed to be a new bio-lubricant and a chondroprotective agent for osteoarthritis treatment. HA release in HPCH/HA hydrogel was more durable and stable and in vitro experiments showed that HPCH/HA hydrogel could promote the synthesis of the extracellular matrix of chondrocytes. Additionally, HPCH/HA hydrogel could delay the progression of osteoarthritis in DMM-induced osteoarthritis mouse model. To sum up, HPCH/HA hydrogel developed herein can achieve the dual function of well lubrication of joints and protection of cartilage and has the clinical potential as synergetic treatment of osteoarthritis.

骨关节炎是一种慢性退行性关节疾病，其进展迹象主要归因于关节摩擦力显着增加和关节软骨破坏。联合软骨修复和关节润滑可能是治疗骨关节炎的可行策略。在这项研究中，通过物理混合 HA 和 HPCH 制备的羟丙基几丁质 (HPCH)/透明质酸 (HA) 水凝胶被设计为一种新型的生物润滑剂和用于骨关节炎治疗的软骨保护剂。HPCH/HA水凝胶中HA的释放更加持久和稳定，体外实验表明HPCH/HA水凝胶可以促进软骨细胞细胞外基质的合成。此外，HPCH/HA 水凝胶可以延缓 DMM 诱导的骨关节炎小鼠模型中骨关节炎的进展。总结，