The qRT-PCR result showed that the expression level of IL6, VEGFA, JUN, IL-1<i>β</i>, and ATF3 was significantly increased in OA samples (p < 0.05), and these candidate genes could be used as potential diagnostic biomarkers and therapeutic targets of OA.
These findings suggest that Atf3 is implicated in the pathogenesis of OA through modulation of inflammatory cytokine expression in chondrocytes, and the feed-forward loop of inflammatory cytokines/NF-kB/Atf3 in chondrocytes may be a novel therapeutic target for the treatment for OA.
Furthermore, the expressions of endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress-associated genes including PERK, ATF3, IRE1, phosphorylated eIF2α (p-eIF2α) and MMP13 were enhanced in OA cartilage explants, while they were decreased by AdPFKFB3 transfection.