IL1B and synovitis: We also sought to determine whether or not COX and/or sEH inhibition could protect the articular cartilage matrix during synovitis because (i) type II collagen degradation by matrix metalloproteinases (MMP) correlates with symptomatic radiographic and pre-radiographic OA (61), (ii) cytokines that increased during synovitis in our study (e.g., IL-1β, TNF-α) and toll-like receptor ligands (e.g., LPS) are known to induce MMP expression (62), and (iii) sEH activity has been linked to OA prevalence and progression (18).