Mechanical loading has been widely considered to be a crucial regulatory factor for growth plate development, but the exact mechanisms of this regulation are still not completely understood. In the growth plate, parathyroid hormone-related protein (PTHrP) regulates chondrocyte differentiation and longitudinal growth. Cyclic mechanical strain has been demonstrated to influence growth plate chond...

Background. Besides its involvement in the cardiovascular system, the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone (RAS) system has also been suggested to play an important role in inflammation. To explore the role of this system in cartilage damage in arthritis, we investigated the expression of angiotensin II receptors in chondrocytes. Methods. Articular cartilage was obtained from patients with osteoarthri...

INTRODUCTION Sclerostin (SOST), a soluble antagonist of Wnt signaling, is expressed in chondrocytes and contributes to chondrocytes' hypertrophic differentiation; however its role in osteoarthritis (OA) pathogenesis is not well known. Based on our previous findings on the interaction between Wnt/β-catenin pathway and BMP-2 in OA, we aimed to investigate the role of DNA methylation and BMP-2 on ...

Osteoarthritis (OA) of hand is a common disease, resulting in disability of the hands. The pathogenesis of hand (H) OA remains to be elucidated, and findings from knee and hip joints cannot be simply applied to HOA. To improve knowledge on the specific biology and pathobiology of HOA, the present study performed bioinformatics analyses to analyze the long non‑coding (lnc) RNA expression profile...

Introduction: Osteoarthritis affects nearly 27 million people in the United States alone. Current treatment options for OA range from pain management to total joint replacement surgery. There are currently no drugs on the market that are able to slow the progression, or reverse the affects of osteoarthritis. This necessitates a better understanding of the biology of osteoarthritis, which will l...

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) play critical roles in multiple processes of skeletal development. A global reduction of miRNAs in growth plate chondrocytes results in defects in both proliferation and differentiation; however, specific microRNAs responsible for these defects have not been identified. In this study, we provide evidence that let-7 miRNAs and microRNA-140 (miR-140), among other miRNAs express...

OBJECTIVE To determine the consequences of mast cell (MC)-chondrocyte interactions. METHODS Cocultured cells were analyzed histochemically, morphologically, biochemically, and functionally. RESULTS Cocultured MC adhered to the chondrocytes and remained viable. Chondrocytes cocultured with nonactivated MC produced more proteoglycans than did chondrocytes cultured alone, and these proteoglyca...

OBJECTIVE To clarify the presence of specific T cell immune response to autologous chondrocytes in patients with osteoarthritis (OA). METHODS Peripheral blood mononuclear cells obtained from OA or post-traumatic patients were co-cultured with irradiated autologous chondrocytes, and their proliferative response was assessed using 3H-thymidine incorporation. Expression of HLA-class II molecules...

Background: Mechanical stress along with inflammation play causative roles in the development of osteoarthritis (OA), which decreases quality life and causes economic loss. Inflammation extracellular matrix (ECM) degradation have been identified as key factors OA. As main active component frankincense, acetyl-11-keto-β-boswellic acid (AKBA) has shown to positive effects on inflammation. However...

Background: The use of chondrocytes for cartilage tissue engineering is hampered by the limited number of chondrocytes that can be harvested and potential dedifferentiation during cell expansion. While stem cells is a promising approach to create a large population of differentiated cells, multiple growth factors are typically required for differentiation. Alternatively, co-culturing of stem ce...