Spontaneous Facet Joint Osteoarthritis in NFAT1-Mutant Mice: Age-Dependent Histopathologic Characteristics and Molecular Mechanisms.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Facet joint (FJ) osteoarthritis (FJOA) is a widely prevalent spinal disorder but its pathogenesis remains unclear, largely due to the difficulties in conducting longitudinal human studies and lack of spontaneous-FJOA animal models for mechanistic investigations. This study aimed to investigate whether spontaneous FJOA occurs in mice bearing mutant NFAT1 (nuclear factor of activated T cells 1) transcription factor.

Methods

The lumbar FJs of 50 NFAT1-mutant mice and of 50 wild-type control mice, of both sexes, were examined by histopathology, quantitative gene expression analysis, semiquantitative immunohistochemistry, and a novel FJOA scoring system for semiquantitative assessment of the histopathologic changes at 2, 6, 12, and 18 months of age. Age-dependent and t

SUBMITTER: Wang J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9208959 | biostudies-literature | 2022 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature