{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,14]],"date-time":"2026-07-14T12:04:52Z","timestamp":1784030692390,"version":"3.55.0"},"reference-count":18,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"12","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2019,6,14]],"date-time":"2019-06-14T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1560470400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"German Mistry of Defense","award":["E\/U2A\/CD524\/DF560"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["E\/U2A\/CD524\/DF560"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["IJMS"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Joint injuries are highly associated with the development of post-traumatic osteoarthritis. Previous studies revealed cell- and matrix-protective effects of N-acetylcysteine (NAC) after ex vivo cartilage trauma, while chondroanabolic stimulation with bone morphogenetic protein 7 (BMP7) enhanced type II collagen (COL2) expression. Here, as a next step, we investigated the combined and individual efficacy of intra-articular antioxidative and chondroanabolic treatment in a rabbit in vivo cartilage trauma model. Animals were randomly divided into group A (right joint: trauma (T); left joint: T+BMP7) and group B (right joint: T+NAC; left joint: T+BMP7+NAC). Condyles were impacted with the use of a spring-loaded impact device to ensure defined, single trauma administration. After 12 weeks, histopathological analysis was performed and the presence of matrix metalloproteinase 13 (MMP-13) and COL2 was assessed. Trauma-induced hypocellularity, MMP-13 expression, and cell cluster formation were reduced in NAC-treated animals. In contrast, BMP7 further increased cluster formation. Moreover, synovial concentrations of COL2 carboxy propeptide (CPII) and proteoglycan staining intensities were enhanced in NAC- and NAC+BMP7-treated joints. For the first time, the efficacy of NAC regarding early harm reduction after blunt cartilage trauma was demonstrated in vivo. However, parallel administration of BMP7 was not significantly superior compared to NAC alone.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/ijms20122916","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2019,6,14]],"date-time":"2019-06-14T11:19:58Z","timestamp":1560511198000},"page":"2916","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":17,"title":["Initial Harm Reduction by N-Acetylcysteine Alleviates Cartilage Degeneration after Blunt Single-Impact Cartilage Trauma in Vivo"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"20","author":[{"given":"Jana","family":"Riegger","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Division for Biochemistry of Joint and Connective Tissue Diseases, Department of Orthopedics, University of Ulm, Ulm 89081, Germany"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Frank","family":"Leucht","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Orthopedics, University of Ulm, Ulm 89081, Germany"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Hans-Georg","family":"Palm","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Orthopedics and Trauma Surgery, German Armed Forces Hospital Ulm, Ulm 89081, Germany"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-4782-1979","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Anita","family":"Ignatius","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Orthopedic Research and Biomechanics, University of Ulm, Ulm 89081, Germany"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Rolf E.","family":"Brenner","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Division for Biochemistry of Joint and Connective Tissue Diseases, Department of Orthopedics, University of Ulm, Ulm 89081, Germany"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2019,6,14]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"e000279","DOI":"10.1136\/rmdopen-2016-000279","article-title":"Post-traumatic arthritis: Overview on pathogenic mechanisms and role of inflammation","volume":"2","author":"Punzi","year":"2016","journal-title":"Rmd Open"},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1825","DOI":"10.1016\/j.joca.2015.08.015","article-title":"Inflammation in joint injury and post-traumatic osteoarthritis","volume":"23","author":"Lieberthal","year":"2015","journal-title":"Osteoarthr. 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