Objective: To test the effects of nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs (NSAID), naproxen, ibuprofen and diclofenac, and salicylates on normal and interleukin 1 (IL-1) treated human articular chondrocyte metabolism in vitro.
Methods: Normal adult human articular chondrocytes were isolated and cultured as primary monolayers; the cells were treated with NSAID and salicylates at low and high plating density for assessing effects on proliferation and matrix synthesis and IL-1 modulated cell metabolism, respectively.
Results: Cell proliferation was inhibited by ibuprofen and high doses of salicylates. Glycosaminoglycan (GAG) synthesis was stimulated by ibuprofen at 10 micrograms/ml but was not changed by any other drugs at similarly low concentrations; at medium to high concentrations, only the salicylates inhibited GAG synthesis. Collagen synthesis was unaffected by any drug at the concentrations tested. IL-1 induced prostaglandin E2 release was completely inhibited by the NSAID and partially inhibited by the salicylates. IL-1 induced IL-6 release was inhibited by ibuprofen and the salicylates where as IL-1 induced APMA-activated collagenase was only inhibited by the salicylates.
Conclusion: Normal human chondrocytes respond differentially to naproxen, ibuprofen, dicolfenac, and the salicylates; these observations suggest that each drug may exhibit unique attributes with respect to longterm efficacy on cartilage metabolism.