Chitooligosaccharides (COS), the hydrolyzed product of chitosan and its derivatives, are known to have interesting pharmaceutical and medicinal applications due to its high solubility, non-toxicity, and increased functionality. Among them sulfated chitooligosaccharides (SCOSs) have been identified to possess enhanced biological activities. This study reports the effects of SCOSs with different molecular weights on the degradation of articular cartilage through unregulated collagenase expression. The results indicated that the SCOS II (3-5kDa) effectively inhibited the expressions of collagenases 1 and 3 and thereby prevented TNF-α induced degradation of collagen in human chondrosarcoma cells (SW-1353). Moreover, the signaling cascade responsible for this effect was found as SCOS II mediated suppression of NF-κB activation. Based on these data, it can be concluded that SCOS II prevented collagen degradation by inhibiting collagenases 1 and 3 via suppressing TNF-α induced NF-κB signaling. We suggest that SCOS II can be further studied as a potential candidate for the treatment of arthritis.
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