Lentiviral Vector-Mediated Over-Expression Of Sox9 Protected Chondrocytes From Il-1 Beta Induced Degeneration And Apoptosis

To explore whether the over-expression of Sry-related HMG box (Sox9) in degenerative chondrocytes is able to improve cell regeneration and protects cells from inflammation induced apoptosis, we generated a Sox9 over-expressing vector delivery system in which the Sox9 gene was inserted into a lentiviral vector. After infecting mouse chondrocytes with the Sox9-encoding vector, we observed a high level of gene transduction efficiency and achieved a high level of Sox9 expression in the infected chondrocytes. To explore whether over-expression of Sox9 is able to induce cell regeneration and improve cell survival, we induced Sox9 over-expression by lentiviral vector infection 48 hours before IL-1 beta treatment. The cells were infected with the reporter gene GFP-encoded lentiviral vector as a negative control or left uninfected. 48-hours after IL-1 beta treatment, the chrondrocytes treated with IL-1 beta alone, underwent a degenerative process, with elevated expression of MMP-3, MMP-13, ADAMTS-5 and ALP, but the cell specific anabolic proteins collagen II and aggrecan were significantly suppressed. The cells infected with the GFP reporter vector had no increased regeneration after IL-1 beta treatment. The results indicated that Sox9 is an important chondrocyte transcription factor, promoting chondrocyte regeneration and cell survival, which were mediated through affecting multiple cell differentiation as well as anti-apoptotic signaling pathways.