Osteoarthritis (OA) is a degenerative joint disease affecting millions of people. The degradation and loss of type II collagen induced by proinflammatory cytokines secreted by chondrocytes, such as factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) is an important pathological mechanism to the progression of OA. Edaravone is a potent free radical scavenger, which has been clinically used to treat the neuronal damage following acute ischemic stroke. However, whether Edaravone has a protective effect in articular cartilage hasn't been reported before. In this study, we investigated the chondrocyte protective effects of Edaravone on TNF-alpha induced degradation of type II collagen. And our results indicated that TNF-alpha treatment resulted in degradation of type II collagen, which can be ameliorated by treatment with Edaravone in a dose dependent manner. Notably, it was found that the inhibitory effects of Edaravone on TNF-alpha-induced reduction of type II collagen were mediated by MMP-3 and MMP-13. Mechanistically, we found that Edaravone alleviated TNF-alpha induced activation of STAT1 and expression of IRF-1. These findings suggest a potential protective effect of Edaravone in OA. (C) 2016 Published by Elsevier Inc.