Biomechanical overloading initiates intervertebral disc
Intervertebral disc (IVD)
Using deep learning and image processing technology, a standardized automatic quantitative analysis systerm of lumbar disc
Low back pain affects 80% of the population with half of cases attributed to intervertebral disc (IVD)
Introduction. Degenerative meniscal tears are the most common meniscal lesions, representing huge clinical and socio-economic burdens. Their role in knee osteoarthritis (OA) onset and progression is well established and demonstrated by several retrospective studies. Effective preventive measures and non-surgical treatments for degenerative meniscal lesions are still lacking, also because of the lack of specific and accurate animal models in which test them. Thus, we aim to develop and validate an accurate animal model of meniscus
Intervertebral disc (IVD)
A key cause of low back pain is the
Intervertebral disc (IVD)
Introduction. Analogous to articular cartilage, changes in spatial chondrocyte organisation have been proposed to be a strong indicator for local tissue
Low back pain is strongly associated with
Low back pain is thought to relate to intervertebral disc (IVD)
Intervertebral disc
Objectives. Interleukin 18 (IL-18) is a regulatory cytokine that degrades the disc matrix. Bone morphogenetic protein-2 (BMP-2) stimulates synthesis of the disc extracellular matrix. However, the combined effects of BMP-2 and IL-18 on human intervertebral disc
Nuclear factor erythroid 2–related factor 2 (Nrf2)/antioxidant response element (ARE) pathway is key in maintaining redox homeostasis and the pathogenesis of osteoarthritis (OA) involves oxidative distress. We thus investigated whether Nrf2/ARE signaling may control expression of key chondrogenic differentiation and hyaline cartilage maintenance factor SOX9. In human C-28/I2 chondrocytes SOX9 expression was measured by RT–qPCR after shRNA-mediated knockdown of Nrf2 or its antagonist the Kelch-like erythroid cell-derived protein with cap “n” collar homology-associated protein 1 (Keap1). Putative ARE-binding sites in the proximal SOX9 promoter region were inactivated, cloned into pGL3, and co-transfected with phRL–TK for dual-luciferase assays to verify whether Nrf2 transcriptionally regulates SOX9. SOX9 promoter activity without and with Nrf2-inducer methysticin were analyzed. Sox9 expression in articular chondrocytes was correlated to cartilage thickness and
Introduction. With processing age, meniscus
Back pain is a leading cause of disability worldwide and it is primarily considered to be triggered by intervertebral disc (IVD)
Objectives. The aim of this study was to examine whether asymmetric loading
influences macrophage elastase (MMP12) expression in different parts
of a rat tail intervertebral disc and growth plate and if MMP12
expression is correlated with the severity of the deformity. Methods. A wedge deformity between the ninth and tenth tail vertebrae
was produced with an Ilizarov-type mini external fixator in 45 female
Wistar rats, matched for their age and weight. Three groups were
created according to the degree of deformity (10°, 30° and 50°).
A total of 30 discs and vertebrae were evaluated immunohistochemically
for immunolocalisation of MMP12 expression, and 15 discs were analysed
by western blot and zymography in order to detect pro- and active
MMP12. Results. No MMP12 expression was detected in the nucleus pulposus. Expression
of MMP12 in the annulus progressively increased from group I to
groups II and III, mainly at the concave side. Many growth plate
chondrocytes expressed MMP12 in the control group, less in group
I and rare in groups II and III. Changes in cell phenotype and reduction
of cell number were observed, together with disorganisation of matrix
microstructure similar to disc
Objectives. Recent studies have shown that systemic injection of rapamycin can prevent the development of osteoarthritis (OA)-like changes in human chondrocytes and reduce the severity of experimental OA. However, the systemic injection of rapamycin leads to many side effects. The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of intra-articular injection of Torin 1, which as a specific inhibitor of mTOR which can cause induction of autophagy, is similar to rapamycin, on articular cartilage degeneration in a rabbit osteoarthritis model and to investigate the mechanism of Torin 1’s effects on experimental OA. Methods. Collagenase (type II) was injected twice into both knees of three-month-old rabbits to induce OA, combined with two intra–articular injections of Torin 1 (400 nM).
Femoro-acetabular impingement involves a deformity of the hip joint and is associated with hip osteoarthritis. Although 15% of the asymptomatic population exhibits a deformity, it is not clear who will develop symptoms. Current diagnostic imaging measures have either low specificity or low sensitivity and do not consider the dynamic nature of impingement during daily activities. The goal of this study is to determine stresses in the cartilage, subchondral bone and labrum of normal and impinging hips during activities such as walking and sitting down. Quantitative CT scans were obtained of a healthy Control and a participant with a symptomatic femoral cam deformity (‘Bump’). 3D models of the hip were created from automatic segmentation of CT scans. Cartilage layers were added so the articular surface was the mid-line of the joint. Finite element meshes were generated in each region. Bone elastic modulus was assigned element-by-element, calculated from CT intensity converted to bone mineral density using a calibration phantom. Cartilage was modelled as poroelastic, E=0.467 MPa, v=0.167, and permeability 3×10. -16. m. 4. /N s. The pelvis was fixed while rotations and contact forces from Bergmann et al. (2001) were applied to the femur over one load cycle for walking and sitting in a chair. All analyses were performed in FEBio. High shear stresses were seen near the acetabular cartilage-labrum junction in the Bump model, up to 0.12 MPa for walking and were much higher than in the Control. Patient-specific modelling can be used to assess contact and tissue stresses during different activities to better understand the risk of
Osteoarthritis (OA), characterised by pain, disability and joint