The Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery, Vol 63, Issue 1 131-139, Copyright © 1981 by Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery, Inc
Biochemical and metabolic abnormalities in articular cartilage from osteoarthritic human hips. III. Distribution and metabolism of amino sugar-containing macromolecules
HJ Mankin, ME Johnson and L Lippiello
Since 1960, numerous studies have supported the thesis that the synthetic
activity of articular chondrocytes is increased in osteoarthritis, but
several recent reports have challenged this concept. To clarify this
problem fully and also to define further the products of this increased
synthesis, three experiments were performed in which the distribution and
rates of synthesis of amino sugar-containing macromolecules in normal and
osteoarthritic cartilage from the human femoral head were assessed by
biochemical analysis and studies of the incorporation of 3H-glucosamine and
35SO4. The biochemical data obtained clearly demonstrated the previously
noted significant decrease in hexosamine content in osteoarthritic tissue.
This decrease was principally due to a diminution in glucosamine
concentration and correlated inversely with the severity of the disease
process (as measured by a previously described histological-histochemical
grading system). Metabolic studies showed a marked increment in the rates
of incorporation of 3H-glucosamine into both the glucosamine and the
galactosamine fractions of the cartilage. The increased synthesis
correlated directly in a non-linear fashion with the severity of the
disease. The ratio of the rate of incorporation of 3H-glucosamine into the
glucosamine fraction to the rate of its incorporation into the
galactosamine fraction was the same in normal and osteoarthritic samples,
suggesting that the decline in glucosamine concentration was not related to
a qualitative alteration of synthetic activity.
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