Bevacizumab suppressed degenerative changes in articular cartilage explants from patients with osteoarthritis of the knee

This study was designed to test the hypothesis that blockade of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) suppresses degenerative changes in articular cartilage from patients with osteoarthritis (OA). Articular cartilage from eight OA patients was subjected to explant culture for 2 days in the presence or absence of 10 ng/ml recombinant interleukin (IL)-1β. The blocking effect of VEGF was examined by the addition of 10 or 100 ng/ml of bevacizumab. The culture media were harvested, and markers for cartilage degradation were measured by sandwich enzyme-linked immunoassay. Total RNA was isolated from cartilage tissues, and gene expressions associated with the anabolic response were examined by the quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction. Bevacizumab significantly reduced concentrations of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-2, MMP-3, and cartilage oligomeric matrix protein in the culture media with and without IL-1β. Significant suppressive effects of bevacizumab on MMP-9 and MMP-13 were shown only in the presence of IL-1β. Gene expression of Col2a1 was significantly increased by the addition of bevacizumab in the absence of IL-1β. Bevacizumab inhibits catabolic reactions and stimulates anabolic function in articular cartilage derived from OA patients directly, suggesting a protective effect on articular cartilage from OA progression.