Abstract:

BACKGROUND: Previous studies demonstrate that interleukin 1β (IL-1β) plays a great role in the degeneration of articular cartilage in knee joints which was caused by the anterior cruciate lagement (ACL) rupture; however, the role of IL-1β in the degeneration of lateral meniscus remains poorly understood.
OBJECTIVE: To investigate the changes and significance of the expression of IL-1β in the lateral meniscus of rabbits with ACL rupture.
METHODS: A total of 48 male, New Zealand, white rabbits, were matched mode pairs and prepared for ACL rupture models. In the experimental side, the ateral meniscus of rabbits was cut down to prepare ACL rupture models, simultaneously, the control sides were exposed without cut down. A total of 12 rabbits were sacrificed under anesthesia at weeks 1, 3, 6 and 8 after model preparation. Degeneration scores of lateral meniscus and expression of IL-1β in lateral meniscus were performed.
RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: With time prolonged, the scores of lateral meniscus degeneration were increased, which was higher in the experimental group than those in the control group at each time points (P < 0.05). The positive rate of IL-1β was greater in experimental group than that in the control group (P < 0.05). In addition, the positive rate of IL-1β in the experimental group was greater at weeks 3 and 6 than weeks 1 and 8 (P < 0.05), which was higher in week 8 than week 1 (P < 0.05). The results demonstrated that the highly expressed IL-1β in the experimental sides hints that IL-1β maybe a promotional factor which causes the degeneration of lateral meniscus. The decreasing of the expression of IL-1β is not a stopping signs of lateral meniscus degeneration.