Investigation of physiological role of maspin on the maintenance of integeity of articular cartilage and the possibility of maspin as a novel therapeutic agent for arthritis

Maspin是一种丝氨酸蛋白酶抑制剂。对Akt和软骨组织中maspin的表达知之甚少。本研究证实maspin在关节软骨细胞上有表达。此外，在将抗maspin抗体注射到大鼠膝关节后，关节软骨组织在炎症反应后被破坏。然后，重组maspin蛋白注射可以防止关节炎对组织的破坏。为了阐明这一点，今后需要进行更有针对性的研究。

Maspin is a serine protease inhibitor. Little is known on maspin expression on akeletal and cartilage tissue. In this study, we confirmed that maspin was expressed on chondrocyte of articular cartilage. Moreover, after injection of anti-maspin antibody into knee joints of rats, articular cartilage tissues were destructed following inflammatory reactions. Then, recombinant maspin protein injection may prevent the destruction of tissues by arthritis. To elucidate this, more focused studies will be necessary in the future.