LAUSR

Abstract Osteoarthritis (OA) is a degenerative joint disease, which is usually accompanied by inflammation. The aim of this study was to evaluate the anti-inflammatory effect of Low-intensity pulsed ultrasound (LIPUS) on OA. Fibroblast-Like Synoviocyte (FLS) were stimulated by LIPUS with/without interleukin (IL)-1β to evaluate inflammatory responses. The results showed that IL-1β could effectively induce the production of nitric oxide (NO), prostaglandin E2 (PGE2), matrix metalloprotease (MMP)-1, MMP-3 in FLS. LIPUS could effectively inhibit the induction of NO, PGE2, MMP-1 and MMP-3. In addition, the activation of the NF-κB pathway induced by IL-1β was diminished by LIPUS treatment. We found that the LIPUS alleviated IL-1β-induced inflammatory responses and catabolic effect in FLS via regulating the NF-κB pathway, and ultrasound intensity and treatment time should be optimized. Thus, LIPUS can be used as a new therapeutic agent for the treatment of OA.