2017 Volume 15 Issue 3-4 Pages 107-113
The synovial membrane is composed of fibroblast-like cells(synovial fibroblasts)and macrophage-like cells. Synovial fibroblasts and monocytes/macrophages are believed to interact and to play a critical role in the development of synovial inflammation. In this study, we investigated the protein production of pro-inflammatory cytokines in co-culture of synovial fibroblasts isolated from the temporomandibular joint(TMJ)and monocytes isolated from peripheral blood. Monocytes that had attached to the plastic surface after culture for 3 days in RPMI containing 10% FBS, exhibited two types of morphologies: “fried egg” and “spindle-like”. Both types of monocytes stained positive for the macrophagespecific markers CD14 and CD68. Synovial fibroblasts were co-cultured with these monocytes for 12 days. Synovial fibroblasts or monocytes were also cultured alone for 12days. The conditioned media were collected every 3 days, following which fresh medium was added to each culture. The protein concentrations of IL-1β, IL-6, and IL-8 in the conditioned media were measured using ELISA. The protein production of IL-1β, IL-6 and IL-8 was greatly increased in the co-culture of synovial fibroblasts and monocytes compared to each monoculture. These data suggest that interaction between monocytes/macrophages and synovial fibroblasts is likely to contribute to the promotion of, and to increase the inflammatory condition in the TMJ.
