Currently, two pathogenic pathways describe the role of obesity in osteoarthritis (OA); one through biomechanical stress, and the other by the contribution of systemic inflammation. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of free fatty acids (FFA) in human chondrocytes (HC) expression of proinflammatory factors and reactive oxygen species (ROS).
HC were exposed to two different concentrations of FFA in order to evaluate the secretion of adipokines through cytokines immunoassays panel, quantify the protein secretion of FFA-treated chondrocytes, and fluorescent cytometry assays were performed to evaluate the reactive oxygen species (ROS) production.
HC injury was observed at 48 h of treatment with FFA. In the FFA-treated HC the production of reactive oxygen species such as superoxide radical, hydrogen peroxide
In our in vitro model of HC, a hyperlipidemia microenvironment induces an oxidative stress state that enhances the inflammatory process mediated by adipokines secretion in HC.