Carpomitra costata Extract Suppresses Interleukin-1β-Induced Inflammatory Response in SW1353 Human Chondrocytes through Suppressing NF-κB Signaling Pathway

Osteoarthritis (OA) is an inflammatory degenerative joint disease that is accompanied by irreversible joint cartilage destruction. Recently, the antioxidant effects of Carpomitra costata, which is a type of brown algae, have been reported, but their effects on OA have not been investigated. In this study, the anti-osteoarthritic effect of the ethanol extract of C. costata (EECC) on SW1353 human chondrocytes was studied. Results showed that EECC significantly attenuated the interleukin-1β (IL-1β)-induced release of pro-inflammatory mediators, including prostaglandin E2 and nitric oxide (NO), as well as expressions of cyclo-oxygenase-2 and inducible NO synthase. EECC also inhibited the IL-1β-induced expressions of matrix metalloproteinase-1, -3, and -13 in SW1353 chondrocytes, which reduced their extracellular secretion. In addition, the oxidative stress induced by IL-1β was confirmed to be blocked by EECC due to the inhibition of reactive oxygen species generation. Moreover, EECC suppressed IL-1β-mediated translocation of nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) from cytosol into the nucleus and the degradation of IκB-α, which indicates that EECC exhibits anti-inflammatory effects by inhibiting the NF-κB signaling pathway. These results are the first to demonstrate the anti-inflammatory activities of C. costata extracts in chondrocytes, thus suggesting that this algae extract may be used in the treatment of OA.