Abstract:Objective To study the protective effect of Panlongqi Tablet on articular cartilage of knee osteoarthritis (KOA) rats and its regulatory mechanism of Wnt pathway. Methods The rat model of knee osteoarthritis was established. The activity of rats was observed and verified by CT. The experiment was divided into sham operation group, model group, celecoxib group and low, medium and high dose Panlongqi Tablet groups. The drug was administered according to the experimental group. The cartilage morphology of rats in each group was observed and scored. HE staining was performed. The levels of TNFα, IL-1β and MMP-13 in synovium of rats were measured by enzymelinked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), and Wnt-4 and β-Catenin in cartilage were measured by Western blot. Results The symptoms of knee osteoarthritis appeared in the rats after operation and were verified by CT. Compared with the sham operation group, the model group had cracks on the knee joints, with burr like and dark yellow surface, hyperplasia and vegetations on the cartilage. HE staining showed that the number of chondrocytes decreased, osteophytes and blood vessels proliferated, the structure was confused and unclear, the surface was sunken, the deep connective tissue showed obvious cracks, and the tide line disappeared. The general score, TNFαlevel, IL-1β level, MMP13 level, Wnt4 level and βcatenin level was significantly increased (P<0.05). Compared with the model group, after the treatment of low, medium and high doses of Panlongqi Tablets, the cartilage surface of the knee joint of the rats tended to be smooth, bright, with less proliferation and vegetation. HE staining showed that the number of chondrocytes increased gradually, the structure tended to be clear, the fissures decreased. Accompanied by a small number of inflammatory cell infiltration, the general score, TNFα level, IL-1β level, MMP13 level, Wnt-4 level and β-catenin level decreased significantly (P<0.05).Conclusion Panlongqi Tablet may alleviate the symptoms of knee osteoarthritis rats by inhibiting Wnt pathway activity, so as to protect articular cartilage.