Regional differences in femoral condyle cartilage biomarkers related to histological degradation severity in the osteoarthritic knee

Abstract

Introduction and purpose: There is significant variation in the development and progression of articular cartilage lesions across the surface of the femoral condyle (FC) during Osteoarthritis (OA). The complex relationships among localized changes in the structure of articular cartilage on the FC and the tissue concentration of protein biomarkers associated with OA development and progression are not well characterized. This study was designed to characterize relationships among OA-related changes in cartilage structure with the concentrations of clinically relevant protein biomarkers in cartilage tissue recovered from femoral condyles of OA patients. Hypothesis: There will be significant differences in the regional concentration of inflammatory, degradation-related, and bone turnover-related biomarkers in OA cartilage tissue recovered from the femoral condyle based on histological severity of degenerative cartilage.