Volck B, Ostergaard K, Johansen J S, Garbarsch C, Price P A
Department of Rheumatology, Hvidovre Hospital, Denmark.
Scand J Rheumatol. 1999;28(3):171-9. doi: 10.1080/03009749950154257.
YKL-40, also called human cartilage glycoprotein-39, is a major secretory protein of human chondrocytes in cell culture. YKL-40 mRNA is expressed by cartilage from patients with rheumatoid arthritis, but is not detectable in normal human cartilage. The aim was to investigate the distribution of YKL-40 in osteoarthritic (n=9) and macroscopically normal (n=5) human articular cartilage, collected from 12 pre-selected areas of the femoral head, to discover a potential role for YKL-40 in cartilage remodelling in osteoarthritis. Immunohistochemical analysis showed that YKL-40 staining was found in chondrocytes of osteoarthritic cartilage mainly in the superficial and middle zone of the cartilage rather than the deep zone. There was a tendency for high number of YKL-40 positive chondrocytes in areas of the femoral head with a considerable biomechanical load. The number of chondrocytes with a positive staining for YKL-40 was in general low in normal cartilage. The present findings, together with previous observations, suggests that YKL-40 may be of importance in cartilage remodelling/degradation of osteoarthritic joints.
YKL-40，也被称为人软骨糖蛋白-39，是细胞培养中人软骨细胞的一种主要分泌蛋白。类风湿性关节炎患者的软骨可表达YKL-40信使核糖核酸，但在正常人体软骨中无法检测到。本研究旨在调查YKL-40在从股骨头预先选定的12个区域采集的骨关节炎患者（n = 9）和肉眼观察正常（n = 5）的人体关节软骨中的分布情况，以发现YKL-40在骨关节炎软骨重塑中的潜在作用。免疫组织化学分析显示，骨关节炎软骨的软骨细胞中存在YKL-40染色，主要集中在软骨的表层和中层，而非深层。在承受相当大生物力学负荷的股骨头区域，YKL-40阳性软骨细胞数量有增多趋势。正常软骨中YKL-40染色阳性的软骨细胞数量总体较少。目前的研究结果与之前的观察结果共同表明，YKL-40可能在骨关节炎关节的软骨重塑/降解过程中发挥重要作用。
