Linkage of chondrocyte apoptosis and cartilage degradation in human osteoarthritis

Objective To examine the occurrence of apoptosis in human osteoarthritis (OA) cartilage, and to determine its relationship to cartilage degradation. Methods Knee cartilage was obtained from subjects at autopsy, from a tissue bank, and from OA patients undergoing total joint replacement surgery. Chon...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Arthritis and rheumatism 1998-09, Vol.41 (9), p.1632-1638
Main Authors: Hashimoto, Sanshiro, Ochs, Robert L., Komiya, Setsuro, Lotz, Martin
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Age Distribution
Aged
Aged, 80 and over
Apoptosis
Biological and medical sciences
Cartilage, Articular - metabolism
Cartilage, Articular - pathology
Cell Count
Chondrocytes - metabolism
Chondrocytes - ultrastructure
Diseases of the osteoarticular system
Flow Cytometry
Humans
Knee Joint - metabolism
Knee Joint - pathology
Medical sciences
Middle Aged
Osteoarthritis
Osteoarthritis - metabolism
Osteoarthritis - pathology
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Summary:Objective To examine the occurrence of apoptosis in human osteoarthritis (OA) cartilage, and to determine its relationship to cartilage degradation. Methods Knee cartilage was obtained from subjects at autopsy, from a tissue bank, and from OA patients undergoing total joint replacement surgery. Chondrocytes were isolated and the number of apoptotic cells was analyzed by flow cytometry. Apoptotic cells in cartilage sections were identified by the detection of DNA strand breaks. Electron microscopy was applied to demonstrate morphologic changes, and Safranin O staining was performed to analyze the relationship between apoptosis and proteoglycan depletion. Results Flow cytometry on cell suspensions prepared from collagenase digests of cartilage showed that ∼22.3% of OA chondrocytes and 4.8% of normal chondrocytes were undergoing apoptosis. Staining of cartilage sections demonstrated the presence of apoptotic cells in the superficial and middle zones. Cartilage areas that contained apoptotic cells showed proteoglycan depletion, and the number of apoptotic cells was significantly correlated with the OA grade. Conclusion These observations demonstrate increased chondrocyte apoptosis in OA cartilage. Chondrocyte apoptosis and proteoglycan depletion are anatomically linked and may be mechanistically related.
ISSN:0004-3591
1529-0131
DOI:10.1002/1529-0131(199809)41:9<1632::AID-ART14>3.0.CO;2-A