Project description:Menisci play a vital role in load transmission, shock absorption and joint stability. The current dogma is that the menisci simply protects the cartilage and play no role in osteoarthritis (OA) unless they are injured. However, there is increasing evidence suggesting that OA menisci may not merely be bystanders in the disease process of OA. This study sought: 1) to determine the prevalence of meniscal degeneration in OA patients, 2) to examine gene expression in OA meniscal cells compared to normal control meniscal cells, and 3) to test the hypothesis that OA meniscal cells are different from normal meniscal cells. The grades of meniscal degeneration correlated in a positive fashion with the grades of articular cartilage degeneration (r = 0.672; P < 0.0001). Many genes classified in the biological processes of immune response, inflammatory response, biomineral formation and cell proliferation, including major histocompatibility complex, class II, DP alpha 1 (HLA-DPA1), integrin, beta 2 (ITGB2), ectonucleotide pyrophosphatase/phosphodiesterase 1 (ENPP1), ankylosis, progressive homolog (ANKH) and fibroblast growth factor 7 (FGF7), were expressed at higher levels compared to normal control meniscal cells. In addition, many genes that were previously implicated in OA were also expressed at higher levels in OA meniscal cells, including ADAM metallopeptidase with thrombospondin type 1 motif, 5 (ADAMTS5). Our findings suggest that OA is a whole joint disease. Meniscal cells may play an active role in the development of OA. Investigation of the gene expression profiles of OA meniscal cells may reveal new therapeutic targets for OA therapy and also may uncover novel disease markers for early diagnosis of OA. Studies were approved by our human subjects Institutional Review Board. Menisci and articular cartilage were collected during joint replacement surgery for OA patients (OA specimens) and lower limb amputation surgery for osteosarcoma patients (normal control specimens), and graded. Meniscal cells were prepared from the meniscal tissues and expanded in monolayer culture. Differential gene expression in OA meniscal cells and normal control meniscal cells was examined using Affymetrix microarray and real time RT-PCR.

Project description:Baker2017 - The role of cytokines, MMPs and fibronectin fragments osteoarthritis This model is described in the article: Mathematical modelling of cytokines, MMPs and fibronectin fragments in osteoarthritic cartilage. Baker M, Brook BS, Owen MR. J Math Biol 2017 Feb; : Abstract: Osteoarthritis (OA) is a degenerative disease which causes pain and stiffness in joints. OA progresses through excessive degradation of joint cartilage, eventually leading to significant joint degeneration and loss of function. Cytokines, a group of cell signalling proteins, present in raised concentrations in OA joints, can be classified into pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory groups. They mediate cartilage degradation through several mechanisms, primarily the up-regulation of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs), a group of collagen-degrading enzymes. In this paper we show that the interactions of cytokines within cartilage have a crucial role to play in OA progression and treatment. We develop a four-variable ordinary differential equation model for the interactions between pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines, MMPs and fibronectin fragments (Fn-fs), a by-product of cartilage degradation and up-regulator of cytokines. We show that the model has four classes of dynamic behaviour: homoeostasis, bistable inflammation, tristable inflammation and persistent inflammation. We show that positive and negative feedbacks controlling cytokine production rates can determine either a pre-disposition to OA or initiation of OA. Further, we show that manipulation of cytokine, MMP and Fn-fs levels can be used to treat OA, but we suggest that multiple treatment targets may be essential to halt or slow disease progression. This model is hosted on BioModels Database and identified by: MODEL1704120000. To cite BioModels Database, please use: BioModels Database: An enhanced, curated and annotated resource for published quantitative kinetic models. To the extent possible under law, all copyright and related or neighbouring rights to this encoded model have been dedicated to the public domain worldwide. Please refer to CC0 Public Domain Dedication for more information.

Project description:Mechanical Stimuli are arguably the most important aetiolgical factors in osteoarthritis (OA) development. Not only do we see disease arising from joints where the cartilage has sustained direct (e.g. intraarticular fracture) or indirect (e.g. meniscal injury) trauma, but mechanical factors are considered, at least partly, to explain the disease associations with aging and obesity. It is now well established that OA is not simply due to repeated wear and tear, leading to attrition of the articular surfaces, but that it requires activation of a number of inflammatory genes, which drive catabolic protease activity in the joint. These enzymes lead to breakdown of the major extracellular matrix components of cartilage, namely type II collagen, and the proteoglycan, aggrecan. Although it is unclear precisely which enzymes are responsible for matrix breakdown in human OA, Glasson et al showed that deletion of the aggrecan degrading enzyme, ADAMTS5 substantially protected the joint from surgically induced murine OA suggesting that it is a major aggrecanase in the mouse. This study was part of a wider study using the surgical model of murine OA, induced by destabilising the medial meniscus (DMM), to confirm the dependence of joint loading on disease progression and to reveal mechanosensitive genes within the joint which may be involved in the development of OA. Using this model we, and others, have shown that there is a robust degradation of articular cartilage over 4-12wks in male C57B/6 mice. We identified the gene response in joints early following induction of OA, prior to cartilage degradation, by extracting RNA from whole joints (after skin and muscle had been removed) 6hrs, 3 days and 7 days following sham and DMM surgery. An Affymetrix ST1 gene array was performed. Significantly regulated genes (>1.4 fold above naive and sham samples at any timepoint), or those considered to have a putative role in OA pathogenesis were selected for quantitative validation using Taqman low density microfluidic card arrays (TLDA). Gene expression in whole knee joints at 3 early time points post DMM surgery (before cartilage loss), 6hrs, 3days and 7days was examined. Two controls were identified, the first control consisted of age matched naïve mice that had undergone 15 minutes of anaesthesia but were not operated on (0hrs post surgery). The second control included mice which had undergone sham surgery (capsulotomy alone). For this RNA was taken at the same time points post surgery as DMM samples (6hrs, 3days and 7days). There were three biological replicates per condition (total of 21 samples). The right (ipsilateral) knee joint was taken and RNA extracted and processed for microarray analysis using the Affymetrix Mouse Gene 1.0 st v1 platform.

Project description:Mechanical Stimuli are arguably the most important aetiolgical factors in osteoarthritis (OA) development. Not only do we see disease arising from joints where the cartilage has sustained direct (e.g. intraarticular fracture) or indirect (e.g. meniscal injury) trauma, but mechanical factors are considered, at least partly, to explain the disease associations with aging and obesity. It is now well established that OA is not simply due to repeated wear and tear, leading to attrition of the articular surfaces, but that it requires activation of a number of inflammatory genes, which drive catabolic protease activity in the joint. These enzymes lead to breakdown of the major extracellular matrix components of cartilage, namely type II collagen, and the proteoglycan, aggrecan. Although it is unclear precisely which enzymes are responsible for matrix breakdown in human OA, Glasson et al showed that deletion of the aggrecan degrading enzyme, ADAMTS5 substantially protected the joint from surgically induced murine OA suggesting that it is a major aggrecanase in the mouse. This study was part of a wider study using the surgical model of murine OA, induced by destabilising the medial meniscus (DMM), to confirm the dependence of joint loading on disease progression and to reveal mechanosensitive genes within the joint which may be involved in the development of OA. Using this model we, and others, have shown that there is a robust degradation of articular cartilage over 4-12wks in male C57B/6 mice. We identified the gene response in joints early following induction of OA, prior to cartilage degradation, by extracting RNA from whole joints (after skin and muscle had been removed) 6hrs, 3 days and 7 days following sham and DMM surgery. An Affymetrix ST1 gene array was performed. Significantly regulated genes (>1.4 fold above naive and sham samples at any timepoint), or those considered to have a putative role in OA pathogenesis were selected for quantitative validation using Taqman low density microfluidic card arrays (TLDA).

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Analysis of Meniscal Degeneration and Meniscal Gene Expression

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