Bonnevie Edward D, Galesso Devis, Secchieri Cynthia, Cohen Itai, Bonassar Lawrence J
Sibley School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, United States of America.
Department of Research and Development, Fidia Farmaceutici SpA, Padua, Italy.
PLoS One. 2015 Nov 24;10(11):e0143415. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0143415. eCollection 2015.
When lubricated by synovial fluid, articular cartilage provides some of the lowest friction coefficients found in nature. While it is known that macromolecular constituents of synovial fluid provide it with its lubricating ability, it is not fully understood how two of the main molecules, lubricin and hyaluronic acid, lubricate and interact with one another. Here, we develop a novel framework for cartilage lubrication based on the elastoviscous transition to show that lubricin and hyaluronic acid lubricate by distinct mechanisms. Such analysis revealed nonspecific interactions between these molecules in which lubricin acts to concentrate hyaluronic acid near the tissue surface and promotes a transition to a low friction regime consistent with the theory of viscous boundary lubrication. Understanding the mechanics of synovial fluid not only provides insight into the progression of diseases such as arthritis, but also may be applicable to the development of new biomimetic lubricants.
当受到滑液润滑时，关节软骨具有自然界中一些最低的摩擦系数。虽然已知滑液的大分子成分赋予其润滑能力，但对于两种主要分子，即润滑素和透明质酸，如何相互润滑和相互作用，人们尚未完全了解。在此，我们基于弹性粘性转变开发了一种用于软骨润滑的新框架，以表明润滑素和透明质酸通过不同机制进行润滑。这种分析揭示了这些分子之间的非特异性相互作用，其中润滑素起到将透明质酸浓缩在组织表面附近的作用，并促进向与粘性边界润滑理论一致的低摩擦状态转变。了解滑液的力学原理不仅有助于深入了解关节炎等疾病的发展过程，还可能适用于新型仿生润滑剂的开发。
