Background Over 70% of the total tissue weight in the cartilage matrix consists of water,and the early-stage osteoarthritic cartilage is characterized by swelling.Water transport in the cartilage matrix and across the membranes of chondrocytes may be important in normal and pathological conditions of cartilage.The purpose of this study was to identify aquaporin-1 (AQP1) and aquaporin-3 (AQP3) expressions in the mandibular condylar cartilage after experimentally induced osteoarthritis(OA)in rats.Methods An experimental temporomandibular joint OA was induced by partial discectomy in rats.The pathological characteristics of the normal,early-stage,and late-stage osteoarthritic TMJ cartilages were verified by histological techniques.The AQP1 and AQP3 gene expressions in the normal and osteoarthritic cartilages were measured using quantitative real-time reverse-transcription PCR analysis.The cartilage sections were incubated in primary polyclonal antibodies to AQP3;immunofluorescent microscopy was used to examine the AQP3 expression shown by its protein level.Results The mRNA expression levels of AQP1 and AQP3,analyzed using quantitative PCR,revealed that AQP3 mRNA was highly up-regulated in the OA cartilage,which was considered significant.There was no notable difference in the expression of AQP1 mRNA between OA and normal controls.With the progressing of the OA,the localization of the AQP3 protein was quite different from that of the normal cartilage.Cormpared to the normal cartilage,the expressions of AQP3 protein were observed mainly in the proliferative zone and the upper mid-zone chondrocytes at the early-stage of OA,and were observed to appear frequently throughout the mid-and deep zone during the late-stage of OA.Conclusions The high expression of AQP3 mRNA in the OA cartilage and the different localization of the AQP3 protein suggest that it may play a particular role in OA pathogenesis.Further study of AQP3 function may provide new insight into the understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying OA.