Synoviocyte-chondrocyte triculture model for early-stage PTOA: fibronectin fragment-induced catabolic effects <i>in vitro</i> and <i>in vivo</i>.

ABSTRACT: Post-traumatic osteoarthritis (PTOA), a subtype of osteoarthritis initiated by joint trauma, is driven by unresolved early inflammation that ultimately leads to cartilage degeneration. Although animal models have advanced our understanding of disease progression, they offer limited resolution of the early molecular events following trauma. In this study, we developed a transwell-based in vitro triculture model mimicking the early joint environment post-injury, incorporating macrophages, fibroblast-like synoviocytes (FLSs), and human articular chondrocytes (HACs). In lieu of the commonly used macrophage activator, lipopolysaccharide (LPS), this study utilizes fibronectin fragments (Fnfs), which belong to the damage-associated molecules released upon trauma to cartilage, to activate m

SUBMITTER: Khan S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12711863 | biostudies-literature | 2025

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature