Animal experiments
DMM-induced OA mouse model was used in the animal experiments as previously described 13. Thirty 12-week-old C57BL/6 mice were randomly divided into 3 groups. Mice in the OA group and the OA+Empa group were anesthetized and the medial meniscus in their knee joints was surgically removed while mice in the Sham group were anesthetized and performed a sham operation. A week after surgery, intra-articular injection of 5 μM empagliflozin was conducted once a week in the OA+Empa group, and equal volume of vehicle was conducted in the OA group and the Sham group. After 4 weeks of treatment, the mice were sacrificed and the knee samples were harvested for histological analysis. This study was performed in line with the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki. Approval was granted by the Ethics Committee of Zhejiang Provincial People’s Hospital, People’s Hospital of Hangzhou Medical College, Hangzhou, China.