Chow G, Nietfeld J J, Knudson C B, Knudson W
Rush Medical College, Rush-Presbyterian-St. Luke's Medical Center, Chicago, Illinois 60612, USA.
Arthritis Rheum. 1998 Aug;41(8):1411-9. doi: 10.1002/1529-0131(199808)41:8<1411::AID-ART10>3.0.CO;2-Z.
To better define critical functions of the hyaluronan receptor CD44 in cartilage.
Articular chondrocytes and cartilage tissue slices were treated with CD44 sequence-specific antisense phosphorothioate oligonucleotides. CD44 expression was probed by immunofluorescence microscopy, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and Western blotting.
Antisense oligonucleotides demonstrated a dose- and time-dependent inhibition of CD44 protein expression; negative controls showed no effect. Similar to osteoarthritic cartilage, antisense-treated cartilage slices displayed a near-total loss of stainable proteoglycan-rich matrix.
CD44 expression is needed for maintenance of cartilage homeostasis.