School of Biomedical Engineering, Science and Health Systems, Drexel University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, United States.
Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Villanova University, Villanova, Pennsylvania 19085, United States.
ACS Biomater Sci Eng. 2024 Sep 9;10(9):5617-5623. doi: 10.1021/acsbiomaterials.4c00813. Epub 2024 Aug 12.
In osteoarthritis (OA), degradation of cartilage pericellular matrix (PCM), the proteoglycan-rich immediate cell microniche, is a leading event of disease initiation. This study demonstrated that biomimetic proteoglycans (BPGs) can diffuse into human cartilage from both normal and osteoarthritic donors and are preferentially localized within the PCM. Applying immunofluorescence (IF)-guided AFM nanomechanical mapping, we show that this localization of BPGs increases the PCM micromodulus of both normal and OA specimens. These results illustrate the capability of BPGs to integrate with degenerative tissues and support the translational potential of BPGs for treating human OA and other diseases associated with proteoglycan degradation.
在骨关节炎（OA）中，软骨细胞周基质（PCM）的降解，富含蛋白聚糖的细胞微环境，是疾病起始的主要事件。本研究表明，仿生蛋白聚糖（BPGs）可以从正常和骨关节炎供体的人软骨中扩散，并优先定位于 PCM 内。通过应用免疫荧光（IF）引导的原子力显微镜纳米力学映射，我们表明 BPGs 的这种定位增加了正常和 OA 标本 PCM 的微模量。这些结果说明了 BPGs 与退行性组织整合的能力，并支持 BPGs 治疗人类 OA 和其他与蛋白聚糖降解相关疾病的转化潜力。
