Dehydrotanshinone II A alleviates osteoarthritis via activating PPARγ to inhibit ferroptosis in chondrocytes

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a prevalent chronic degenerative joint disease. Ferroptosis, an iron-dependent form of programmed cell death, has been implicated as a crucial contributor to OA progression. Simiao Powder, a classical traditional Chinese medicine formula, has been widely used in clinical practice to treat inflammatory diseases such as gout and OA. However, its regulatory effects on ferroptosis remain unclear. This study investigates whether Simiao Powder could alleviate OA by regulating ferroptosis and analyzes its underlying mechanisms. We integrated multiple bioinformatics analyses along with in vivo and in vitro experiments to elucidate the mechanism by which DHT IIA treats OA. Potential therapeutic targets of Simiao Powder were identified through the TCMSP and GEO databases, and their potential biological functions were evaluated using GO enrichment, ROC curve analysis, molecular docking, and immune infiltration assessment via CIBERSORTx. OA was induced in SD rats using a high carbohydrate and fat diet, followed by a 16-week intervention with DHT IIA. Histological staining, OARSI scoring, and cartilage thickness measurements were performed. The expression levels of PPARγ, GPX4, and the apoptosis marker TUNEL in rat cartilage were evaluated using immunofluorescence and immunohistochemistry. In an LPS-induced ATDC5 chondrocyte injury model, Western blotting was used to assess the expression of PPARγ, COL2A1, ACSL4, and MMP13. Furthermore, the scTenifoldKnk algorithm was applied to perform a virtual knockout of PPARγ based on the GSE216651 single-cell RNA-seq dataset to explore its downstream regulatory effects. Bioinformatics analysis identified five key genes (CDKN1A, HMOX1, DPP4, GJA1, and PPARγ), among which PPARγ and HMOX1 exhibited strong predictive potential with AUC values > 0.8. Molecular docking analysis revealed that DHT IIA exhibited the lowest binding energy with PPARγ (-8.15 kcal/mol), indicating it as the most likely therapeutic target. In vitro and in vivo experiments demonstrated that DHT IIA significantly upregulated PPARγ expression reduced ACSL4, MMP13 and TUNEL levels, increased COL2A1 and GPX4 expression levels. Meanwhile computer simulated gene knockdown also laterally confirmed that PPARγ is a key gene affecting ferroptosis and OA development. The study confirmed that DHT IIA could improve the articular cartilage structure of OA rats by elevating PPARγ and inhibiting ferroptosis. This study reveals that DHT IIA, the active ingredient of Simiao Powder, may alleviate OA by inhibiting ferroptosis through the activation of PPARγ. These findings provide a new molecular mechanism basis for the treatment of OA by Simiao Powder, as well as scientific support for the subsequent drug development and clinical applications.