BACKGROUND: Apoptosis of articular chondrocytes plays an important role in the progression of osteoarthritis. Fas is an important protein in apoptosis pathway, which is a member of tumor necrosis factor receptor family.
OBJECTIVE: To investigate the changes of soluble Fas (sFas) in serum of patients with knee osteoarthritis and the effects of sodium hyaluronate on sFas in serum and synovial fluid.
METHODS: Sixty-four patients with knee osteoarthritis and forty-eight healthy controls were enrolled. Patients with knee osteoarthritis were divided into sodium hyaluronate group and regular treatment group randomly. Patients in the regular treatment group were given regular treatment. Patients in sodium hyaluronate group were treated with intra-articular injection of sodium hyaluronate (2 mL, once for 1 week) for 5 weeks based on regular treatment. The levels of sFas in serum and synovial fluid were examined in controls and patients before and after therapy.
RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: The serum sFas levels were significantly increased in patients with knee osteoarthritis compared with normal controls. Unconditional logistic regression analysis showed that the increased serum sFas was an independent risk factor of the presence of knee osteoarthritis. After 5 weeks treatment, the sFas levels in serum and synovial fluid were significantly decreased in the sodium hyaluronate group compared with those before treatment. However, there were no significant differences in the sFas levels in serum and synovial fluid of the regular treatment group before and after treatment. Sodium hyaluronate can reduce the sFas levels in serum and synovial fluid of patients with knee osteoarthritis.