Minced articular cartilage procedures are attractive surgical approaches for repairing articular cartilage, as they are 1-staged, autologous, and inserted on a carrier that can potentially be placed arthroscopically. The principle of mincing the autologous donor cartilage is to create a larger surface area for cartilage expansion. Placement on a scaffold carrier allows for a chondro-inductive a...

The boundary lubrication function of articular cartilage is mediated in part by proteoglycan 4 (PRG4) molecules, found both in synovial fluid (SF) and bound to the articular cartilage surface. Currently the mechanism by which PRG4 binds to the articular surface is not well understood. The objectives of this study were to determine (1) the effect of bathing fluid contents on PRG4 concentration a...

The distribution of alkaline phosphatase activity in human articular cartilage from normal and osteoarthritic joints has been examined by an electron microscope technique, probably for the first time. In osteoarthritic cartilage chondrocytes and matrix vesicles close to the tidemark were positive for alkaline phosphatase activity. Large numbers of matrix vesicles were found within the extracell...

In adult articular cartilage, the extracellular matrix is maintained by a balance between the degradation and synthesis of matrix components. Chondrocytes that sparsely reside in the matrix and rarely proliferate are the key cellular mediators for cartilage homeostasis. Indications have been found for the involvement of the Wnt signaling pathway in maintaining articular cartilage and deregulati...

The fact that bone is stress electrogenic is well substantiated. Becker and colleagues have proposed that this property is the biological signal that regulates Wolff's law, whereas others have observed osteogenic responses to electrical voltages and currents. Becker and Murray detected electrical control signal characteristics in fractured long bones. The above findings and the work of Smith, w...

The purpose of this study was to determine whether delayed gadolinium-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging of cartilage (dGEMRIC) and T2 mapping are accurate techniques for measuring cartilage thickness in the metacarpus3/metatarsus3 (Mc3/Mt3) of Thoroughbred racehorses. Twenty-four Mc3/Mt3 cadaver specimens were acquired from six healthy racehorses. Cartilage thickness was measured from postint...

BACKGROUND In osteoarthritis (OA), the imbalance of chondrocytes' anabolic and catabolic factors can induce cartilage destruction. Interleukin-1 beta (IL-1β) is a potent pro-inflammatory cytokine that is capable of inducing chondrocytes and synovial cells to synthesize MMPs. The hypoxia-inducible factor-2alpha (HIF-2alpha, encoded by Epas1) is the catabolic transcription factor in the osteoarth...

The cell density and incorporation of 35SO4 and 3H-glycine into human articular cartilage from 8 osteoarthrotic and 7 normal (subcapital fracture) femoral heads were studied. It was found that osteoarthrotic cartilage incorporates on a per cell basis about twice as much 35SO4 and 2--5 times as much 3H-glycine as normal cartilage. There was no relationship between the intensity of incorporation ...

background: while articular chondrocytes are among those appropriate candidates for cartilage regeneration, the cell dedifferentiation during monolayer culture has limited their application. several investigations have indicated the usefulness of alginate, but the topic of proliferation and differentiation of chondrocytes in alginate culture has still remained controversial. methods: rat articu...