OBJECTIVE This study assessed the three-dimensional accuracy of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for measuring articular surface topographies and cartilage thicknesses of human cadaveric knee joints, by comparison with the calibrated stereophotogrammetric (SPG) method. METHODS Six fresh frozen cadaveric knees and the knees of four volunteers were imaged with a three-dimensional spoiled gradie...

Mori folium, the leaf of Morus alba L. (Moraceae), has been widely used in traditional medicine for the treatment of various diseases. It has been recently reported that Mori folium possesses potential chondroprotective effects in interleukin (IL)‑1β‑stimulated human chondrocytes; however, its protective and therapeutic potential against osteoarthritis (OA) in an animal model remains unclear. I...

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of UP1306 on discomfort and function in adults with osteoarthritis of the knee. In a randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled, parallel design, 135 subjects received UP1306, a standardized, proprietary extract of Morus alba and Acacia catechu, glucosamine chondroitin, or placebo for 12 weeks. Discomfort, stiffness, and activities of d...

In a previous study, we revealed that a commercially available product of dietary supplement containing a chicken comb extract (CCE), which is rich in hyaluronan, not only relieves joint pain and other symptoms, but also potentially improves the balance of type II collagen degradation/synthesis in patients with knee osteoarthritis. Since soccer is one of the sports most likely to cause knee ost...

Schisandrae Fructus, the fruit of Schisandra chinensis (Turcz.) Baill., is widely used in traditional medicine for the treatment of a number of chronic diseases. Although, Schisandrae Fructus was recently reported to attenuate the interleukin (IL)-1β-induced inflammatory response in chondrocytes in vitro, its protective and therapeutic potential against osteoarthritis (OA) in an animal model re...

Background: The effect of sheep tail fat (STF) on the damage induced in the knee articular joint with formalin was investigated and evaluated from the biochemical, gene expression, histopathological aspects in comparison with an extract consisting of glucosamine hydrochloride, chondroitin sulfate, methylsulfonylmethane, Harpagophytum procumbens and bromelain (GCMHB). Material and methods: The a...

Given the difficulties in accessing articular cartilage as a source of chondrocytes to be used in fabricating cartilage constructs, alternative sources are required. The present study examined chondrocytes from costal cartilage for their suitability in cartilage tissue engineering. Chondrocytes isolated from rat knee and rib hyaline cartilage were separately mixed with alginate and placed in a ...

Background: Previous studies have shown that Galectin-3, a member of lectin family, is expressed in developing cartilage in mouse embryo and also in growth plate of long bones.   Objective: In the present work, the expression pattern of Galectin-3 in normal and various grades of osteoarthritic (OA) human articular cartilage has been studied.   Methods: Using immunohistochemistry and standard we...

background dedifferentiation of chondrocytes remains a major problem for cartilage tissue engineering. chondrocytes loss differentiated phenotype in in vitro culture that is undesired for repair strategies. the chondrocyte is surrounded by a pericellular matrix (pcm), together forming the chondron. pcm has a positive effect on the maintenance of chondrocyte phenotype during culture in compariso...

Deficient T cell regulation can be mechanistically associated with development of chronic autoimmune diseases. Therefore, combining the regulatory properties of IL-10 and the specificity of autoreactive CD4(+) T cells through adoptive cellular gene transfer of IL-10 via autoantigen-specific CD4(+) T cells seems an attractive approach to correct such deficient T cell regulation that avoids the r...