HIGHLIGHTS Chondrocytes express PAR-4 in the nucleus and cytoplasm; Vitamin D reduces pro-apoptotic proteins caspase-3; caspase-3 may be potential therapeutic targets for osteoarthritis.

Anabolic activity, phenotypic alterations, and in particular survival of the chondrocytes are essential for the maintenance of proper articular cartilage and appears to fail during osteoarthritic cartilage degeneration. In this study, we investigated the presence and expression of RhoB in adult human articular cartilage and its regulation in osteoarthritic cartilage as well as in chondrocytes i...

The dynamics of the histological changes which occur in the distal half of the tibial portion of the embryonic chick tibiotarsus from day 8 to day 18 of incubation are correlated with the capacities of histologically distinct zones to incorporate isotopic precursors into mucopolysaccharides and collagen. At the distal end of the tibia, which abuts the suture line formed by the fusion of the two...

STUDY DESIGN Senescence-related markers were assessed in surgically obtained human nucleus pulposus (NP) specimens. PURPOSE To demonstrate the mechanism and signaling pathway involved in the senescence of NP chondrocytes. OVERVIEW OF LITERATURE The population of senescent disc cells has been shown to be increased in degenerated or herniated discs. However, the mechanism and signaling pathwa...

Introduction: SOX9 is a transcriptional activator which is necessary for chondrogenesis. SOX6 are closely related to DNA-binding proteins that critically enhance its function. Therefore, to carry out the growth plate chondrocyte differentiation program, SOX9 and SOX6 collaborate genomewide. Chondrocyte differentiation is also known to be promoted by glucocorticoids through unknown molecular mec...

Background: Cell-based treatment approach using differentiated mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) and mature chondrocytes has been considered as an advanced treatment for cartilage repair. We investigated the differentiated level of these two cell types that is crucial for their repair capacity for cartilage defect at a co-culture micro mass system. Methods: Passaged-2 MSCs isolated from the mouse b...

OBJECTIVE Articular cartilage harbors chondrogenic progenitor cells (CPCs), a population that responds chemotactically to cell death. Because this behavior is reminiscent of macrophages, we hypothesized that CPCs have macrophage-like capabilities for scavenging cell and tissue debris through phagocytosis. DESIGN CPCs, chondrocytes, synoviocytes, and macrophages were cultured with fluorophore-...

Monosodium urate and tumor necrosis factor-α, are two potent mediators of separate inflammatory response pathways in arthritic joints where inflammation may be accompanied by the loss of chondrocyte vitality via apoptosis. To address this possibility in vitro, chondrocyte cultures were employed to determine the extent to which monosodium urate and recombinant TNF-α altered the frequency of apop...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Degenerating cartilage releases potential danger signals that react with Toll-like receptor (TLR) type danger receptors. We investigated the presence and regulation of TLR1, TLR2, and TLR9 in human chondrocytes. METHODS We studied TLR1, TLR2, TLR4, and TLR9 mRNA (qRT-PCR) and receptor proteins (by immunostaining) in primary mature healthy chondrocytes, developing chondr...