Salinomycin alleviates osteoarthritis progression via inhibiting Wnt/β-catenin signaling

•Treatment with low Salinomycin concentrations directly upregulated the anabolism factors and inhibited the catabolic factors to protect against extracellular matrix degradation in chondrocytes.•Salinomycin suppresses IL-1β-mediated ECM degradation and inflammatory responses in mouse chondrocytes.•Salinomycin inhibited Lrp6 phosphorylation and Wnt/β-catenin signaling in chondrocytes.•Salinomycin protected against the OA histopathological changes in cartilage and subchondral bone in a DMM-induced mouse OA model. Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most prevalent degenerative whole-joint disease characterized by cartilage degeneration, synovial hyperplasia, osteophyte formation, and subchondral bone sclerosis. Currently there are no disease-modifying treatments available for OA because its etiology and pathogenesis are largely unknown. Here we report that a natural carboxylic polyether ionophore that is used as an anti-tumor drug, salinomycin (SAL), may be a promising therapeutic drug for OA in the future. We found that SAL showed no cytotoxicity on mouse chondrocytes and displayed a protective effect against interleukin-1β (IL-1β), in cultured mouse chondrocytes and cartilage explants. Treatment with low SAL concentrations directly upregulated the anabolism factors collagen II and aggrecan, while it inhibited the catabolic factors matrix metalloproteinase-13 (MMP13) and metalloproteinase with thrombospondin motifs-5 (ADAMTS5) to protect against extracellular matrix (ECM) degradation, and also suppressed inflammatory responses in mouse chondrocytes. Furthermore, SAL reduced the severity of OA-associated changes and delayed cartilage destruction, subchondral bone sclerosis, and osteophyte formation in a destabilized medial meniscus (DMM) surgery-induced mouse OA model. Mechanistically, a low SAL concentration induced anabolism and inhibited catabolism in chondrocytes via inhibiting Lrp6 phosphorylation and Wnt/β-catenin signaling. Our results suggested that SAL may serve as a potential disease-modifying therapeutic against OA pathogenesis.