Articular cartilage collagen birefringence is altered concurrent with changes in proteoglycan synthesis during dynamic in vitro loading

Articular cartilage and changes in Arthritis: Collagen of articular cartilage

The extracellular framework and two-thirds of the dry mass of adult articular cartilage are polymeric collagen. Type II collagen is the principal molecular component in mammals, but collagens III, VI, IX, X, XI, XII and XIV all contribute to the mature matrix. In developing cartilage, the core fibrillar network is a cross-linked copolymer of collagens II, IX and XI. The functions of collagens I...

Predicting Articular Cartilage Constituent Material Properties following in Vitro Growth Using a Proteoglycan-collagen Mixture Model

Collagen Fibrillation and Reduced Proteoglycan Content of Articular Cartilage Modulate Cell Shape Changes as Osteoarthritis Pro

INTRODUCTION: In osteoarthritis (OA), the volume of articular cartilage cells, i.e. chondrocytes, have been shown to increase [1]. This may be due to the changes in cartilage structure and composition and, consequently, hypotonic extracellular osmolarity that has been shown to be present in OA [2]. These changes may result in altered biomechanical and biological signals detected by chondrocytes...

Microstructural modeling of collagen network mechanics and interactions with the proteoglycan gel in articular cartilage.

Cartilage matrix mechanical function is largely determined by interactions between the collagen fibrillar network and the proteoglycan gel. Although the molecular physics of these matrix constituents have been characterized and modern imaging methods are capable of localized measurement of molecular densities and orientation distributions, theoretical tools for using this information for predic...

Synthesis of cartilage matrix by mammalian chondrocytes in vitro. II. Maintenance of collagen and proteoglycan phenotype

The in vitro phenotype of bovine articular chondrocytes is described. Chondrocytes plated at high density in roller-bottle and dish cultures were maintained in vitro. The major matrix macromolecules, collagen and proteoglycan, synthesized by these cells were characterized during the course of the culture period. The chondrocytes synthesized mainly Type II collagen, which was found predominantly...