Pouran Behdad, Arbabi Vahid, Bleys Ronald Law, René van Weeren P, Zadpoor Amir A, Weinans Harrie
Department of Orthopedics, UMC Utrecht, Heidelberglaan 100, 3584 CX Utrecht, The Netherlands; Department of Biomechanical Engineering, Faculty of Mechanical, Maritime, and Materials Engineering, Delft University of Technology (TU Delft), Mekelweg 2, 2628 CD Delft, The Netherlands.
Department of Orthopedics, UMC Utrecht, Heidelberglaan 100, 3584 CX Utrecht, The Netherlands; Department of Biomechanical Engineering, Faculty of Mechanical, Maritime, and Materials Engineering, Delft University of Technology (TU Delft), Mekelweg 2, 2628 CD Delft, The Netherlands.
J Biomech. 2017 Feb 8;52:148-154. doi: 10.1016/j.jbiomech.2016.12.025. Epub 2016 Dec 29.
Cross-talk of subchondral bone and articular cartilage could be an important aspect in the etiology of osteoarthritis. Previous research has provided some evidence of transport of small molecules (~370Da) through the calcified cartilage and subchondral bone plate in murine osteoarthritis models. The current study, for the first time, uses a neutral diffusing computed tomography (CT) contrast agent (iodixanol, ~1550Da) to study the permeability of the osteochondral interface in equine and human samples. Sequential CT monitoring of diffusion after injecting a finite amount of contrast agent solution onto the cartilage surface using a micro-CT showed penetration of the contrast molecules across the cartilage-bone interface. Moreover, diffusion through the cartilage-bone interface was affected by thickness and porosity of the subchondral bone as well as the cartilage thickness in both human and equine samples. Our results revealed that porosity of the subchondral plate contributed more strongly to the diffusion across osteochondral interface compared to other morphological parameters in healthy equine samples. However, thickness of the subchondral plate contributed more strongly to the diffusion in slightly osteoarthritic human samples.
软骨下骨与关节软骨之间的相互作用可能是骨关节炎病因学中的一个重要方面。先前的研究已经提供了一些证据，表明在小鼠骨关节炎模型中，小分子（约370Da）可通过钙化软骨和软骨下骨板进行运输。当前的研究首次使用中性扩散计算机断层扫描（CT）造影剂（碘克沙醇，约1550Da）来研究马和人类样本中骨软骨界面的通透性。使用微型CT在软骨表面注入有限量的造影剂溶液后，通过连续CT监测扩散情况，结果显示造影剂分子穿过了软骨-骨界面。此外，在人类和马的样本中，通过软骨-骨界面的扩散受到软骨下骨的厚度和孔隙率以及软骨厚度的影响。我们的结果表明，在健康马的样本中，与其他形态学参数相比，软骨下板的孔隙率对穿过骨软骨界面的扩散影响更大。然而，在轻度骨关节炎的人类样本中，软骨下板的厚度对扩散的影响更大。
