Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33014527›Full record

ArticleAging and disease2020

Chondroprotective Effects of Combination Therapy of Acupotomy and Human Adipose Mesenchymal Stem Cells in Knee Osteoarthritis Rabbits via the GSK3β-Cyclin D1-CDK4/CDK6 Signaling Pathway.

Xingyan An, Tong Wang, Wei Zhang, Hongliang Yu, Robert Chunhua Zhao, Yan Guo, Chunjiu Wang, Luxue Qin, Changqing Guo

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Aging and disease, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 21 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
21citing papers in PubMed, 3 pooled it
2.6field-weighted citation impact, top 9% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

21 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 27 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Pooled it
  3. Pooled it
  4. Trial
  5. Trial
  6. Review
  7. Article
  8. Evolving Strategies for Knee Osteoarthritis: A Narrative Review of Integrated Rehabilitation, Pharmacologic, and Joint-Preserving Interventions.Medical science monitor : international medical journal of experimental and clinical research · 2026
    Review
  9. Review
  10. Review
  11. Article
  12. Acupotomy alleviates knee osteoarthritis in rabbit by regulating chondrocyte mitophagy Pink1-Parkin pathway.Journal of traditional Chinese medicine = Chung i tsa chih ying wen pan · 2024
    Article
  13. Article
  14. Article
  15. Article
  16. Review
  17. Article
  18. Article
  19. Article
  20. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Xingyan An1School of Acupuncture-Moxibustion and Tuina, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, China.
Tong Wang1School of Acupuncture-Moxibustion and Tuina, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, China.
Wei Zhang1School of Acupuncture-Moxibustion and Tuina, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, China.
Hongliang Yu2Institute of Basic Medical Sciences Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, School of Basic Medicine Peking Union Medical College, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Center of Excellence in Tissue Engineering Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Beijing Key Laboratory, Beijing, China.
Robert Chunhua Zhao2Institute of Basic Medical Sciences Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, School of Basic Medicine Peking Union Medical College, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Center of Excellence in Tissue Engineering Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Beijing Key Laboratory, Beijing, China.
Yan Guo3Acupuncture and Moxibustion Department, Beijing Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital Affiliated to Capital Medical University, Beijing, China.
Chunjiu Wang1School of Acupuncture-Moxibustion and Tuina, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, China.
Luxue Qin1School of Acupuncture-Moxibustion and Tuina, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, China.
Changqing Guo1School of Acupuncture-Moxibustion and Tuina, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, China.
Beijing University of Chinese Medicine · CNPeking Union Medical College Hospital · CN

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Adipose-derived stem cells (ASCs) are highly chondrogenic and can be used to treat knee osteoarthritis (KOA) by alleviating cartilage defects. Acupotomy, a biomechanical therapy guided by traditional Chinese medicine theory, alleviates cartilage degradation and is widely used in the clinic to treat KOA by correcting abnormal mechanics. However, whether combining acupotomy with ASCs will reverse cartilage degeneration by promoting chondrocyte proliferation in KOA rabbits is unknown. The present study aimed to investigate the effects of combination therapy of acupotomy and ASCs on chondrocyte proliferation and to determine the underlying mechanism in rabbits with KOA induced by knee joint immobilization for 6 weeks. After KOA modeling, five groups of rabbits (acupotomy, ASCs, acupotomy + ASCs, model and control groups) received the indicated intervention for 4 weeks. The combination therapy significantly restored the KOA-induced decrease in passive range of motion (PROM) in the knee joint and reduced the elevated serum level of cartilage oligomeric matrix protein (COMP), a marker for cartilage degeneration. Furthermore, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images showed that the combination therapy inhibited cartilage injury. The combination therapy also significantly blocked increases in the mRNA and protein expression of glycogen synthase kinase-3β (GSK3β) and decreases in the mRNA and protein expression of cyclin D1/CDK4 and cyclin D1/CDK6 in cartilage. These findings indicated that the combination therapy mitigated knee joint immobility, promoted chondrocyte proliferation and alleviated cartilage degeneration in KOA rabbits, and these effects may be mediated by specifically regulating the GSK3β-cyclin D1-CDK4/CDK6 pathway.

Indexed as

acupotomyASCschondrocytesKOAproliferation

Identifiers

PMID33014527
PMCPMC7505269
OpenAlexW3088797533

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.