Abstract
Background: Osteoarthritis (OA) is a prevalent disease plaguing the elderly. Recently, chondrocyte ferroptosis has been demonstrated to promote the progression of OA. Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ (PPARγ) is an important factor in maintaining cartilage health. However, the relationship between PPARγ and chondrocyte ferroptosis in OA and its mechanism is completely unclear. Methods: We established a surgically induced knee OA rat model to investigate PPARγ and chondrocyte ferroptosis in OA. Rat knee specimens were collected for Safranin O/Fast Green staining and immunohistochemical staining after administered orally placebo or pioglitazone (PPARγ agonist) for 4 weeks. We used RSL3 to establish a chondrocyte ferroptosis model cultured in vitro to study the role of PPARγ activation toward ferroptosis, mitochondrial function, and PTEN-induced putative kinase 1 (Pink1)/Parkin-dependent mitophagy. GW9662 (PPARγ antagonist), Mdivi-1 (mitophagy inhibitor), and chloroquine (mitophagy inhibitor) were employed to investigate the mechanism of PPARγ-Pink1/Parkin-dependent mitophagy in the inhibition of ferroptosis. Results: We found that PPARγ activation by pioglitazone attenuated not only OA but also inhibited the expression of the ferroptosis marker acyl-CoA synthetase long-chain family member 4 (ACSL4) at the same time in rats. Furthermore, in vivo and in vitro data indicated that PPARγ activation restored Pink1/Parkin-dependent mitophagy, improved mitochondrial function, inhibited chondrocyte ferroptosis, and delayed the progression of OA. Conclusions: The present study demonstrated that PPARγ activation attenuates OA by inhibiting chondrocyte ferroptosis, and this chondroprotective effect was achieved by promoting the Pink1/Parkin-dependent mitophagy pathway.