Targeted activation on Bnip3 enhances mitophagy to prevent the progression of osteoarthritis.

Background: The production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and mitochondrial dysfunction in chondrocytes are closely related to cartilage degeneration in the procedure of osteoarthritis (OA). Mitophagy is responsible for the scavenging of ROS and dysfunctional mitochondria and is considered a key therapeutic target for the treatment of OA. Tiopronin, a classic thiol antioxidant, has been widely studied for the treatment of various oxidative stress-related diseases.

Methods: The expression of mitophagy (PINK1, PARKIN, and TOMM20) in intact and damaged cartilage of OA patients was analyzed by Western blot and histological analysis. RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) analysis was performed to explore the molecular mechanism of tiopronin in regulating mitophagy in chondrocytes, and then to find the specific target of tiopronin. The therapeutic effects of tiopronin were evaluated in the OA model induced by destabilisation of the medial meniscus (DMM), chondrocytes degenerative model with the primary chondrocytes from mouse and human cartilage explants experiment. The downstream molecular mechanisms of tiopronin were further investigated by si-RNA knockdown of mitophagy-related proteins.

Results: The level of mitophagy in cartilage was negatively correlated with the severity of OA. We revealed that tiopronin promoted the anabolism of the extracellular matrix (ECM) of hyaline chondrocytes and alleviates ROS and by strengthening mitophagy. Moreover, tiopronin strongly activated the expression of Bnip3, a protein anchored in the mitochondrial membrane, and subsequently enhanced the Pink1/Parkin signaling pathway.

Conclusion: These findings indicate that the Bnip3-Pink1-Parkin signaling pathway, targeted and activated by tiopronin, plays a key role in inhibiting the progression of OA.

The Translational Potential Of This Article: As a classical drug in clinic, tiopronin was developed a new therapeutic approach in the treatment in OA via this study. Based the significant and efficient effect of tiopronin in inhibiting the cartilage degermation and delay the progression of OA, it was believed that tiopronin may become an effective therapeutic candidate for OA treatment in clinical settings.