Elsevier

Osteoarthritis and Cartilage

Volume 30, Issue 9, September 2022, Pages 1210-1221
Osteoarthritis and Cartilage

Characterization of rhodanine derivatives as potential disease-modifying drugs for experimental mouse osteoarthritis

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joca.2022.04.005Get rights and content
Under an Elsevier user license
open archive

Summary

Objective

This study was performed to characterize selected rhodanine derivatives as potential preclinical disease-modifying drugs for experimental osteoarthritis (OA) in mice.

Methods

Three rhodanine derivatives, designated rhodanine (R)-501, R-502, and R-503, were selected as candidate OA disease-modifying drugs. Their effects were evaluated by intra-articular (IA) injection in OA mouse models induced by DMM (destabilization of the medial meniscus) or adenoviral overexpression in joint tissues of hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF)-2α or zinc importer ZIP8. The regulatory mechanisms impacted by the rhodanine derivatives were examined in primary-culture chondrocytes and fibroblast-like synoviocytes (FLS).

Results

All three rhodanine derivatives inhibited OA development caused by DMM or overexpression of HIF-2α or ZIP8. Compared to vehicle-treated group, for example, IA injection of R-501 in DMM-operated mice reduced median OARSI grade from 3.78 (IQR 3.00–5.00) to 1.89 (IQR 0.94–2.00, P = 0.0001). R-502 and R-503 also reduced from 3.67 (IQR 2.11–4.56) to 2.00 (IQR 1.00–2.00, P = 0.0030) and 2.00 (IQR 1.83–2.67, P = 0.0378), respectively. Mechanistically, the rhodanine derivatives inhibited the nuclear localization and transcriptional activity of HIF-2α in chondrocytes and FLS. They did not bind to Zn2+ or modulate Zn2+ homeostasis in chondrocytes or FLS; instead, they inhibited the nuclear localization and transcriptional activity of the Zn2+-dependent transcription factor, MTF1. HIF-2α, ZIP8, and interleukin-1β could upregulate matrix-degrading enzymes in chondrocytes and FLS, and the rhodanine derivatives inhibited these effects.

Conclusion

IA administration of rhodanine derivatives significantly reduced OA pathogenesis in various mouse models, demonstrating that these derivatives have disease-modifying therapeutic potential against OA pathogenesis.

Keywords

Osteoarthritis
Posttraumatic OA
Mouse
Chondrocytes
Rhodanine-derived compounds
Disease-modifying OA drug (DMOAD)
Therapeutics

Cited by (0)

a

These authors contributed equally to this work.