Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine, Shimane University, Izumo, Japan.
Cartilage. 2022 Jul-Sep;13(3):19476035221102566. doi: 10.1177/19476035221102566.
Osteoarthritis (OA) is more prevalent in females. We hypothesized that changes in articular cartilage (AC) constituents with aging may cause differences. Herein, we aimed to compare the changes in AC constituents with aging in male and female normal rats.
The glycosaminoglycan (GAG) and collagen (COL) contents of the AC in knee, hip, and shoulder joints of male and female rats were quantified and compared between age groups and sexes.
The amount of GAG was decreased in multiple joints in both males and females with aging. In females, it had a significant decrease in all joints measured. The decrease in GAG with aging was more severe in females than in males. Even in young rats, the amount of knee joint GAG was significantly less in females than in males. The amount of COL in the AC was unchanged with aging in both sexes.
The drastic GAG decrease with aging in female normal rats may explain the higher prevalence and more severe OA in females.
骨关节炎（OA）在女性中更为普遍。我们假设，随着年龄的增长，关节软骨（AC）成分的变化可能会导致这种差异。在此，我们旨在比较正常雄性和雌性大鼠 AC 成分随年龄的变化。
定量比较了不同年龄组雄性和雌性大鼠膝关节、髋关节和肩关节 AC 中的糖胺聚糖（GAG）和胶原蛋白（COL）含量，并比较了不同性别间的差异。
随着年龄的增长，男性和女性的多个关节中的 GAG 含量均减少。在女性中，所有测量关节的 GAG 含量均显著减少。与男性相比，女性 GAG 随年龄的减少更为严重。即使在年轻的大鼠中，膝关节 GAG 的含量在女性中也明显少于男性。在两性中，AC 中 COL 的含量随年龄的增长而不变。
正常雌性大鼠的 GAG 随年龄的急剧减少可能解释了女性中 OA 更高的发病率和更严重的程度。
