Adipokines induce pro‐inflammatory factors in activated Cd4+ T cells from osteoarthritis patient

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a chronic systemic musculoskeletal disorder involving inflammation, immunity, and metabolic alterations. OA is commonly regarded as non‐inflammatory disease; still inflammation is recognized as contributing to the symptoms and progression of OA. New evidence suggests that adipokines are involved in the pathophysiology of OA and might modulate the production of inflammatory mediators including in immune cells. However, the role of immune component in osteoarthritis is still poorly investigated. To gain further insights into the interaction of immune cells in OA and the role of adipokines on these cells, we performed experiments aimed to determine the cytokine profile in activated CD4⁺ T cells from OA patients. For completeness, we also explored the cross talk between T lymphocytes and chondrocytes in OA by co‐culturing human primary chondrocytes with activated CD4⁺ T cells in two ways: the first by incubating the cells by direct contact (D.C.) or by transwell system. Our results show that the exposure of activated CD4⁺ T cells to adipokines modulates IL‐6, IL‐8, and CCL‐3 production. In addition, the production of key macromolecules of ECM (aggrecan and collagen‐2) and matrix metalloproteinase 13 (MMP‐13) in co‐cultured chondrocytes with activated CD4⁺ T cells was altered.