Stabilization of HIF-1α alleviates osteoarthritis via enhancing mitophagy
Sunli Hu, Chunwu Zhang, Libin Ni, Chongan Huang, Dingwen Chen, Keqing Shi, Haiming Jin, Kairui Zhang, Yao Li, Ling Xie, Mingqiao Fang, Guangheng Xiang, Xiangyang Wang, Jian Xiao
Abstract
Mitochondrial dysfunction leads to osteoarthritis (OA) and disc degeneration. Hypoxia inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α) mediated mitophagy has a protective role in several diseases. However, the underlying mechanism of HIF-1α mediated mitophagy in OA remains largely unknown. This current study was performed to determine the effect of HIF-1α mediated mitophagy on OA. Therefore, X-ray and tissue staining including HE staining, safranin O-fast green (S-O) and Alcian Blue were used to assess imageology and histomorphology differences of mouse knee joint. Transcriptional analysis was used to find the possible targets in osteoarthritis. Western blot analysis, RT-qPCR and immunofluorescence staining were used to detect the changes in gene and protein levels in the vitro experiment. The expression of HIF-1α was increased in human and mouse OA cartilage. HIF-1α knockdown by siRNA further impair the hypoxia-induced mitochondrial dysfunction; In contrast, HIF-1α mediated protective role was reinforced by prolylhydroxylase (PHD) inhibitor dimethyloxalylglycine (DMOG). In addition, HIF-1α stabilization could alleviate apoptosis and senescence via mitophagy in chondrocytes under hypoxia condition, which could also ameliorate surgery-induced cartilage degradation in mice OA model. In conclusion, HIF-1α mediated mitophagy could alleviate OA, which may serve as a promising strategy for OA treatment.