Depletion Of Cartilage Matrix Research Articles

A single blunt impact on cartilage promotes fibronectin fragmentation and upregulates cartilage degrading stromelysin‐1/matrix metalloproteinase‐3 in a bovine ex vivo model

Post-traumatic osteoarthritis (PTOA) is characterized by progressive cartilage degeneration in injured joints. Since fibronectin-fragments (Fn-fs) degrade cartilage mainly through up-regulating matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) and pro-inflammatory cytokines, we hypothesized that Fn-fs play a key role in PTOA by promoting chondrolysis in and around injured cartilage. To test this hypothesis, we profiled the catabolic events focusing on fibronectin fragmentation and proteinase expression in bovine osteochondral explants following a single blunt impact on cartilage with a drop tower device which created partial-thickness tissue damage. Injured and control explants were cultured for up to 14 days. The presence of Fn-fs, MMPs (-1, -3, -13), ADAMTS-5 in culture media and in cartilage was determined with immunoblotting. The daily proteoglycan (PG) depletion of cartilage matrix was assessed with DMMB assay. The effect of explant-conditioned media on chondrocytes was also examined with immunoblotting. Impacted cartilage released significantly higher amount of native Fn, three chondrolytic Fn-fs and PG than non-impacted controls did. Those increases coincided with up-regulation of MMP-3 both in culture media and in impacted cartilage. These findings support our hypothesis that PTOA may be propelled by Fn-fs which act as catabolic mediators through up-regulating cartilage-damaging proteinases.

Gp49B1 deficiency is associated with increases in cytokine and chemokine production and severity of proliferative synovitis induced by anti‐type II collagen mAb

Mice with a disrupted gp49B gene, which encodes gp49B1 that is expressed on certain hematopoietic cells and has two immunoreceptor tyrosine-based inhibitory motifs (ITIM), exhibit augmented FcepsilonRI-initiated mast cell degranulation and resultant tissue edema. gp49B1-deficient (gp49B(-/-)) mice also exhibit exaggerated lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced intravascular neutrophil aggregation leading to cutaneous microangiopathy. To determine whether gp49B(-/-) mice exhibit elevated cytokine and chemokine levels leading to pathologic inflammation, we quantified clinical and morphologic parameters of arthritis and tissue levels of contributory mediators in gp49B(-/-) and gp49B1-sufficient (gp49B(+/+)) mice injected with anti-type II collagen monoclonal antibody (mAb) and LPS. Clinical scores for joint swelling and histological assessments of synovial thickness and cartilage matrix depletion at day 7 were significantly 2.3- to 2.5-fold greater and were more prolonged in gp49B(-/-) mice. At day 5, the amounts of IL-1beta, macrophage inflammatory protein (MIP)-1alpha, and MIP-2 were 2.1-, 2.5-, and 12-fold greater in joint extracts from gp49B(-/-) mice. A significant 2.7-fold more neutrophils infiltrated the synovium of gp49B(-/-) mice at day 7, and neutrophilia persisted with the delayed resolution of the synovitis. mAb-mediated depletion of neutrophils prevented the synovitis in both strains. Thus, gp49B1 counter-regulates the cytokine and chemokine induction and attendant neutrophilia that are all essential for synovitis and cartilage matrix depletion.

Depletion of cartilage matrix by a neutral protease fraction of human leukocyte lysosomes.

SummaryA neutral protease fraction of human PMN granules which degrades elastin and hydrolyzes l-alanine p-nitrophenyl ester (NBA) was tested on rabbit articular cartilage. Forty micrograms of this fraction released 568 μg of protein from 10 mg of cartilage in 4 hr (average value of five experiments). This effect was correlated with a nearly complete loss of metachromatic staining of the cartilage ground substance. Electrophoretically purified pancreatic elastase also degraded cartilage matrix, supporting the suggestion that the elastinolytic protease of the PMN granule fraction was primarily responsible for its attack upon matrix proteoglycan. Another fraction of the granules, containing only collagenolytic activity but no NBA-esterolytic activity, gave insignificant matrix degradation. Of 15 human, pathologic synovial fluid samples, seven contained readily measurable NBA-esterase activity.

THE REMOVAL OF CARTILAGE MATRIX BY PAPAIN

In rabbits, the depletion of cartilage matrix which occurs following intravenous administration of papain treated with iodacetamide is attributable to a portion of the enzyme in the disulfide form which has not undergone alkylation. It is this portion that is reactivated in cartilage in vivo and initiates the enzymatic breakdown of the protein-polysaccharide complex which forms a major component of the matrix. Evidence presented in support of these conclusions indicates that, contrary to an earlier hypothesis, papain acetamide is not reactivated in vivo. Following intravenous injection in amounts up to 4 mg./kg., active and inactive papain leaves the circulation at a rate proportional to the concentration, and it is likely that the initial rate of disappearance represents equilibration with the extracellular space. Following injection in the active or inactive form, a high proportion of papain in serum is bound to protein in the alpha globulin fraction. It is believed that in the case of fully active papain, the proportion which is not bound to alpha globulin becomes attached to other proteins of serum in extracellular fluid, such as albumin, by a process of enzyme substrate combination, and is thus prevented from diffusing into cartilage. In the case of inactive papain, a comparable excess remains free to enter cartilage, where it initiates depletion of matrix following reactivation within the tissue. These conclusions provide an explanation for the failure of fully active papain to cause depletion of cartilage matrix in vivo; the widespread changes seen after the injection of papain inactivated by iodoacetamide or by simple reversible oxidation are attributable to a small proportion of the injected material which enters cartilage in the disulfide form in a concentration of approximately 2 micrograms/gm. wet weight. The possibility that such a small amount of protease, when reactivated, can produce changes in cartilage matrix has been confirmed by studies on the effects of papain on isolated cartilage and chondromucoprotein in vitro. It has been shown that severe local injury results when active papain is injected into the skin of a rabbit in low concentrations. Since a much higher concentration of papain can be attained in the circulation without obvious adverse effects, it is evident that binding of the protease by alpha globulin and possibly other serum proteins may exemplify a mechanism whereby the tissues are protected from injury following entry into the circulation of other potentially harmful agents, such as proteolytic enzymes derived from cells or bacteria.

Increased fixation of sulfur-35 by cartilage in vitro following depletion of the matrix by intravenous papain.

The uptake in vitro of sulfur-35 by costal cartilage obtained from nine rabbits 11 days after an intravenous injection of crude papain solution was compared with that in costal cartilage from eight normal untreated rabbits. An increased fixation of the isotope was found in treated animals compared with controls. The depletion of cartilage matrix by papain provided an experimental situation to test the hypothesis that the depletion of matrix which occurs in osteoarthritic cartilage can stimulate increased synthesis of chondroitin sulfate. The results give further support to the view that the primary lesion in osteoarthritis occurs in the matrix rather than in the chondrocyte of articular cartilage.

Comparison of the effects of papain n vitamin A on cartilage. I. The effects in rabbits.

The administration of large amounts of vitamin A to rabbits has been shown to result in depletion of cartilage matrix. The normal basophilic, metachromatic, and Alcian blue staining properties of the matrix are lost, especially in articular and epiphyseal cartilage. The cartilage cells remain intact, but are reduced in size. These changes sometimes appeared as early as 48 hours after the initiation of daily injection of 1 million units of vitamin A, and were usually well established by 5 days. Some rabbits failed to show changes in cartilage, even after 5 daily injections. Increased amounts of material presumed to be chondroitin sulfate were present in the sera of vitamin A-treated rabbits, usually by 72 hours after the first injection. This was demonstrated by a turbidimetric procedure using hexamminecobaltic chloride. In rabbits given sulfur-35 (Na(2)S(35)O(4)) 5 days before the initiation of vitamin A treatment, it was shown that sulfur-35 was lost from articular and epiphyseal cartilage. This was associated with an increase in the non-dialyzable sulfur-35 in both serum and in the cobalt-precipitable material. These rabbits also excreted more sulfur-35 than rabbits not given vitamin A. There was a reduction in sulfur-35 activity in chondromucoprotein extracted from the ear cartilage of vitamin A-treated rabbits. The changes are interpreted as indicating that the administration of large amounts of vitamin A to rabbits results in removal of chondroitin sulfate from cartilage matrix. The administration of small amounts of crude papain causes histologic changes in cartilage that are remarkably similar to those seen in vitamin A-treated rabbits. The possibility is suggested that the changes in cartilage produced by administration of vitamin A to rabbits may be the result of activation of a proteolytic enzyme or enzymes, with properties similar to those of papain.

The removal of cartilage matrix, in vivo, by papain; identification of crystalline papain protease as the cause of the phenomenon.

The intravenous injection of crystalline papain into young rabbits results in depletion of cartilage matrix throughout the body, with loss of rigidity and collapse of the ears, provided the enzyme is inactivated by oxidation or sulfhydryl blocking agents prior to administration. Cysteine-activated crystalline papain, when injected intravenously, produces little or no change in cartilage. The changes which occur in cartilage following an injection of inactivated crystalline papain are indistinguishable from those produced by crude papain. Activation of crude papain by cysteine prior to injection results in loss of its capacity to produce in vivo changes in cartilage. The progressive changes which take place in cartilage in vivo also occur in vitro in isolated rabbit ears removed shortly after an injection of crude papain or inactivated crystalline papain. In vitro ear collapse occurs rapidly at 37 degrees C. and does not occur at 4 degrees C. Collapse is enhanced by exposing the cartilage to cysteine and prevented by exposure to iodoacetamide or p-chloromercuribenzoate. The direct action of crystalline papain on plates of normal cartilage, in vitro, results in the same gross and histological changes which were observed in vivo. The direct action is accelerated by cysteine and inhibited by iodoacetamide or p-chloromercuribenzoate. The intravenous injection of iodoacetamide-treated bromelin produces the same in vivo changes in cartilage as papain. Untreated bromelin has no demonstrable effect on cartilage. It is suggested that the reason for the failure of activated papain to enter cartilage, after being injected intravenously, is that it probably reacts with a substrate or substrates in the blood. Oxidized or otherwise inactivated papain, in contrast, is readily taken up by cartilage and there converted to its active form.