2022, Vol. 26 ›› Issue (23): 3700-3705

An appropriate dose of intra-articular medical ozone injection in a rat model of temporomandibular joint osteoarthritis

Zhang Wanxia1, 2, Nijiati·Nuermuhanmode1, 2, Maisituremu·Heilili1, 2, Liu Jianglong1, 2, Liu Di1, 2, Maimaitituxun·Tuerdi1, 2   

Abstract: BACKGROUND: Medical ozone is a mixture of ozone and oxygen that, in contact with body fluids, rapidly produces reactive oxygen species and activates the body’s antioxidant system. Clinically, the intra-articular injection of medical ozone can effectively alleviate the progress of osteoarthritis.
OBJECTIVE: To study the therapeutic effect of intra-articular injection of medical ozone in a rat model of temporomandibular joint osteoarthritis.
METHODS: The rat model of temporomandibular joint osteoarthritis was established through intra-articular injection of sodium iodoacetate. Medical ozone with mass concentrations of 20, 30 and 40 mg/L was then injected into the joint cavity of the experimental rats once a week for 3 weeks. Model group and control group were injected with the equal amount of saline. The structural changes of the temporomandibular joint were evaluated by cone beam CT examination 1 week after the last injection. The tumor necrosis factor α level in the condylar cartilage and plasma was measured by ELISA, and the tissue samples of the temporomandibular joint on the other side were stained with hematoxylin-eosin and safranin O-fast green, and histopathological changes of the temporomandibular joint were evaluated by the modified Mankin’s score.
RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: Cone beam CT results indicated that the temporomandibular joint and condylar process of control rats had regular shape and smooth surface, while condylar process deformation and surface defects of rats in the medical ozone 20 and 30 mg/L groups were smaller than those in the model and medical ozone 40 mg/L groups. ELISA results revealed that the expression levels of tumor necrosis factor α in the cartilage and plasma of the rat condylar process were significantly increased in the model group and medical ozone 20, 30, 40 mg/L groups compared with the control group (P < 0.05). Compared with the model group and medical ozone 40 mg/L group, the expression level of tumor necrosis factor α in the cartilage and plasma were significantly decreased in the medical ozone 20, 30 mg/L groups (P < 0.05). Histological observation revealed that the modified Mankin’s score in the medical ozone 20, 30, 40 mg/L groups and the model group were significantly higher than that in the control group (P < 0.05); the modified Mankin’s score in the medical ozone 20, 30 mg/L groups was significantly lower than that in the model group and the medical ozone 40 mg/L group (P < 0.05). To conclude, the intra-articular injection of 20 and 30 mg/L medical ozone can significantly delay the progression of osteoarthritis in the temporomandibular joint of rats, but when the mass concentration of ozone is increased to 40 mg/L, it will aggravate osteoarthritis in the temporomandibular joint of rats.
Key words: temporomandibular joint disorder, temporomandibular joint, osteoarthritis, ozone, intra-articular, injection, therapeutics, rats