Dexamethasone reduces ATDC5 chondrocyte cell viability by inducing autophagy.

Prolonged use of glucocorticoids (GCs) for the treatment of chronic inflammatory and autoimmune diseases commonly exerts various side-effects, including impairment of skeletal development. However, the effect of GCs on chondrocytes, which play a key role in skeletal development, has been rarely reported. In the present study, autophagy was induced in the ATDC5 chondrocyte cell line following treatment with dexamethasone (Dex) at doses of 1‑100 µM, and that this effect can be inhibited by RU486, a GC antagonist. Autophagy induced by the highest Dex dose (100 µM) was associated with a reduction in ATDC5 cell viability. We conclude that high doses of GC can reduce ATDC5 chondrocyte cell viability by inducing autophagy.