Cartilage Biology and Osteoarthritis Flashcards
What is osteoarthritis?
a disease of the whole joint which involves the loss of articular cartilage
- commonest form of arthritis and numbers are rising
What is arthroscopy?
arthroscopy is a type of keyhole surgery for checking or repairing your joints
(picture shows normal and chondral defects)
What is the structure of (normal) articular hyaline cartilage (microscopic)?
Superficial (flatter chondrocytes)
Transitional or intermediate
Deep or radial
Calcified
Bone
What is the ECM of healthy cartilage made of?
Proteoglycan (aggrecan)- exert swelling pressure, resists compression
type II collagen- high tensile strength
Water
What is a chondrocyte and what conditions does it exist in and how/ when does it divide? And what are its interactions with the matrix?
<5% tissue
Producer and degrader of the cartilage matrix
Highly metabolically active
Exists in relative hypoxia
Interactions with matrix: growth factors, mechanotransduction
No cell division after adolescence
What is the word for complete lack of oxygen?
Anoxia
What are the matrix molecules in cartilage?
Type II collagen and collagenases
Aggrecan and aggrecanases
What enzymes break down Type II collagen in cartilage?
Metalloproteinases (metalloproteinases are collagenases)
MMP-1, MMP-8, MMP-13
MMP-3
What is special about MMP-3?
It is a stromelysin
MMP3 is released from the synovial membrane under inflammatory conditions and may serve as biological markers for inflammatory osteoarthritis
Where in Type II collagen is it cleaved?
Clip at 3/4 point of collagen chain by collagenases
N—/-C
What is aggrecan made of?
Hyaluronan
Keratin sulfate chain
Chondroitin sulfate
What are G1, G2, G3 in aggrecan?
globulins
what breaks the chain between hyaluronan and keratin sulfate in aggrecan?
Matrix metalloproteinases
e.g., MMP-3
where the chain is broken…
DIPEN(341)~(342)FFGVGG.
What breaks the rest of the chain in aggrecan?
Aggrecanases (ADAMTS-4 & 5)
where the chain is broken…
NITEGE(373)~(374)ARGSV…
What are TIMPs?
Tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinases
(1-4)
They are naturally occuring
What are the types of anabolic or anti-catabolic factors articular cartilage in the joint?
Intrinsic and extrinsic
What are the intrinsic anabolic and anti-catabolic factors for articular cartilage in the joint?
TIMPs
Growth factors e.g. fibroblast growth factor (FGF-2), Insulin-like growth factor (IGF), Transforming growth factor (TGF)-β, activin A
What are the extrinsic anabolic and anti-catabolic factors for articular cartilage in the joint?
Hormones e.g. testosterone, estrogen
Some drugs e.g. FGF-18
Why does matrix loss occur?
Excessive degradation
Reduced anabolism/ repair
What does your cartilage need to maintain cartilage thickness and turnover?
mechanical load
without this there is cartilage atrophy
e.g., in stroke patients
Where does the load go thorugh?
tibiofemoral joint of your knee,
The load increases as you walk, jump, run and climb stairs compared to when your standing
How much does the load increase during various exercises? (walking, jumping, running, climbing stairs)
walking- 2-6x body weight
jumping- 7-9x body weight
running- 3-8x body weight
climbing stairs- 3-10x body weight
How much more pressure does your knee have to support if you gain 5kg while walking?
If you increase your weight by 5 kg, your knees support 15-30 kg more pressure on walking
Where is load always greater in your body?
Medial compartment of the knee