UFL1 attenuates IL-1β-induced inflammatory response in human osteoarthritis chondrocytes

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a chronic inflammatory joint disease characterized by degradation of articular cartilage. Ubiquitin-fold modifier 1 (UFM1)-specific ligase 1 (UFL1) is an UFM1 E3 ligase that has been identified as a regulator of inflammatory response. However, the role of UFL1 in OA remains unknown. The aim of the present study was to explore the function of UFL1 in an in vitro OA system in chondrocytes. Our results showed that UFL1 was lowly expressed in both OA articular tissues and chondrocytes with IL-1β induction. Ectopic expression of UFL1 improved cell viability of IL-1β-induced chondrocytes. UFL1 suppressed the production of NO and PGE2, as well the expression levels of iNOS and COX-2 in IL-1β-induced chondrocytes. The IL-1β-induced increases in TNF-α and IL-6 levels were attenuated by UFL1. Ectopic expression of UFL1 inhibited the production of extracellular matrix (ECM) degrading enzymes including matrix metalloproteinase 3 (MMP-3), MMP-13, ADAMTS-4 and ADAMTS-5 in chondrocytes with IL-1β induction. Additionally, UFL1 suppressed IL-1β-induced activation of NF-κB signaling pathway in chondrocytes. In conclusion, these findings indicated that UFL1 exerted protective effect on IL-1β-induced chondrocytes. Thus, UFL1 might be a potential target for the treatment of OA.