Do chondrocytes differ in ankle, hip and knee cartilage?
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Do the intrinsic properties of the chondrocytes account for the difference in prevalence of OA in the Hip, Knee and Ankle?
IRAS ID
184005
Contact name
Emma Blain
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Cardiff University
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
n/a, n/a
Duration of Study in the UK
3 years, 0 months, 1 days
Research summary
Osteoarthritis is a common disease resulting in articular cartilage breakdown, pain and reduced mobility. A significant proportion of our population develop knee, hip or hand osteoarthritis but osteoarthritis of the ankle or elbow is less common. Many factors contribute to the development of knee and hip osteoarthritis including age and obesity; however, ankle osteoarthritis only develops due to a previous mechanical trauma e.g. experienced during a sport or vehicle injury, or as a result of an unstable ankle. Why do the risk factors associated with knee osteoarthritis have no influence on ankle destruction? The answer to this question is still largely unknown. There is some evidence which suggests that the composition of ankle cartilage is different to that of knee or hip cartilage so it is better able to withstand the “wear and tear” of daily living. We also think that ankle cartilage cells sense and react to the loads applied e.g. during walking, differently to the signals sent by cells in the knee or hip cartilage. We believe that the altered tissue composition, and hence how the ankle responds to loading largely protects this joint from destruction and progression of osteoarthritis.
Therefore the objectives of this proposal are to compare cartilage from ankle with those sites that develop primary OA i.e. the knee and hip:
(1) to determine whether there is a difference in matrix composition and/or mechanical properties
(2) to investigate mechanisms involved in cytokine-mediated cartilage degeneration
(3) to investigate mechanisms involved in mechano-regulation of cartilage degeneration
There are no effective cures for osteoarthritis; understanding why the ankle is largely protected from destruction will enable us to study the lack of repair in knee and hip cartilage in response to abnormal loading. Comparing the differences between ankle, hip and knee osteoarthritis will help develop new treatments to tackle the root cause and symptoms of osteoarthritis.REC name
North East - Newcastle & North Tyneside 1 Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
15/NE/0337
Date of REC Opinion
25 Sep 2015
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion