In a rat osteoarthritis model, the activation of Bax and caspase 3/9 and the downregulation of Bcl-2, which were induced by IL-1β in SIRT3-overexpressing chondrocytes, were significantly reduced, indicating that SIRT3 protected chondrocytes from IL-1β-induced apoptosis [98]. Here, IL1B is linked to osteoarthritis.