A previous study demonstrated that dexamethasone had a chondroprotective effect, that is, it ameliorated arthritic pain and protected cartilage from damage in a rabbit osteoarthritis model via suppressing several pro-inflammatory gene markers, including il-1b, il-8, il-6, tnf-α, mmp-3, and mmp-13 [35]. Here, CXCL8 is linked to osteoarthritis.