Research Progress on Traditional Chinese Medicine Active Ingredients Targeting Chondrocyte Pyroptosis in Osteoarthritis

Author：XUE Yun, HUANG Junqing, ZHAO Yu, YANG Bin, GUO Huaiyuan

Unit：Henan University of Chinese Medicine, Zhengzhou Henan 450003, China

Quote：引用：薛云，黄俊卿，赵宇，杨彬，郭怀远.中药活性成分靶向软骨细胞焦亡调控骨关节炎的研究进展[J].中医药导报,2026,32(2):149-156.

DOI：10.13862/j.cn43-1446/r.2026.02.025

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Abstract：

This article summarizes the mechanisms by which active ingredients from traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), including flavonoids, alkaloids, polysaccharides, phenolics, terpenoids, and saponins, regulate chondrocyte pyroptosis in recent years. It reviews their targeted pathways and experimental evidence, and proposes future research directions considering current challenges. Osteoarthritis (OA) is a chronic degenerative joint disease with a complex pathogenesis, in which chondrocyte pyroptosis plays a key role. TCM active ingredients can regulate chondrocyte pyroptosis through multi-target (primarily focusing on the canonical NLRP3/Caspase-1/GSDMD pathway) and multi-pathway approaches (inhibiting inflammasome activation, blocking pro-inflammatory signaling, and reducing oxidative stress). This leads to reduced release of inflammatory mediators and matrix degradation, thereby modulating chondrocyte pyroptosis and delaying OA progression.

Key words：osteoarthritis; chondrocyte pyroptosis; traditional Chinese medicine active ingredients; NLRP3 inflammasome; signaling pathways

摘要：归纳近年来黄酮类、生物碱类、多糖类、酚类、萜类及皂苷类等中药活性成分调控软骨细胞焦亡的作用机制，梳理其靶向通路与实验依据，并结合当前研究难点提出未来发展方向。骨关节炎（OA）作为一种慢性退行性关节病，其发病机制复杂，其中软骨细胞焦亡在OA发病中具有关键作用。中药活性成分可通过多靶点[主要聚焦核苷酸结合结构域富含亮氨酸重复序列和含热蛋白结构域受体3（NLRP3）/胱天蛋白酶-1（Caspase-1）/消皮素D（GSDMD）经典通路]、多途径（抑制炎症小体激活、阻断促炎信号传导、减轻氧化应激）调控软骨细胞焦亡，减少炎症介质释放和基质降解，调控软骨细胞焦亡，延缓OA进展。

关键词：骨关节炎；软骨细胞焦亡；中药活性成分；NLRP3炎症小体；信号通路

Release time：2026-03-05

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