Up‐regulation of MDC15 (metargidin) messenger RNA in human osteoarthritic cartilage

• Published in: Arthritis and rheumatism 1999-09, Vol.42 (9), p.1946-1950
• Main Authors: Böhm, Beate B., Aigner, Thomas, Gehrsitz, Angelika, Blobel, Carl P., Kalden, Joachim R., Burkhardt, Harald
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: ADAM Proteins; Adult; Aged; Biological and medical sciences; Cartilage, Articular - metabolism; Chondrosarcoma - genetics; Diseases of the osteoarticular system; Disintegrins - genetics; Humans; Medical sciences; Membrane Proteins - genetics; Metalloendopeptidases - genetics; Middle Aged; Osteoarthritis; Osteoarthritis - metabolism; Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; RNA, Messenger - physiology; Sequence Analysis, DNA; Up-Regulation
• ISSN: 0004-3591; 1529-0131
• DOI: 10.1002/1529-0131(199909)42:9<1946::AID-ANR21>3.0.CO;2-E

Objective The aim of the study was to investigate the messenger RNA (mRNA) expression of the disintegrin metalloproteinase MDC15 (metargidin, or ADAM‐15) in normal and osteoarthritic (OA) articular cartilage. Methods In situ hybridization experiments and reverse transcription–polymerase chain reaction (RT‐PCR) were performed on tissue samples of adult normal and OA articular cartilage. Results MDC15 mRNA could be detected in normal articular cartilage by RT‐PCR using tissue‐extracted total RNA as a template. However, the mRNA level remained below the sensitivity of in situ hybridization. In contrast, in situ hybridizations of OA cartilage revealed an intense staining with the MDC15‐specific riboprobes. The extension of the analysis to chondrosarcomas showed a strong up‐regulation of MDC15 mRNA in these malignant transformed cells. Conclusion Our results demonstrate a markedly strong up‐regulation of MDC15 in adult OA and neoplastic cartilage compared with adult normal articular cartilage, indicating a potential role of the disintegrin metalloproteinase in cartilage remodeling.