| Osteoarthritis ( OA ) is one of the most common degenerative joint diseases. It is clinically characterized by severe joint pain and limited mobility, which can lead to joint dysfunction. The pathogenesis of OA is complex, which is mainly related to articular cartilage injury, cartilage matrix degradation, subchondral bone remodeling, inflammation and chondrocyte apoptosis metabolism. Inflammatory cytokines ( such as interleukin-1β ( IL-1β ), interleukin-6 ( IL-6 ) and tumor necrosis factor-α ( TNF-α ) ), extracellular matrix degradation enzyme factors ( such as matrix metalloproteinases ( MMPs ) ), chondrocyte repair and remodeling factors ( such as bone morphogenetic protein ( BMP ) ) and cell proliferation and apoptosis factors ( such as transforming growth factor-β ( TGF-β ) ) are closely involved in articular cartilage injury, subchondral bone remodeling, inflammatory response and apoptosis metabolism. The study found that traditional Chinese medicine can intervene in the expression of cytokines in the joints of OA patients according to the pathogenesis of OA, thereby alleviating the damage of articular cartilage, promoting cartilage repair, and delaying the pathological process of OA. At the same time, it can reduce the joint pain of OA patients and relatively reduce the economic burden of patients. Therefore, this article summarizes the research progress of traditional Chinese medicine extracts and traditional Chinese medicine compound intervention-related cytokine expression in the treatment of OA by consulting domestic and foreign OA-related literature, in order to provide a certain reference basis and ideas for the later clinical application of traditional Chinese medicine to prevent and treat OA. |