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Special Issue "Molecular Mechanisms and Biomarkers of Osteoarthritis"

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Guest Editor

Medicines (CIRM) Liège, Liège University, Institute of Pathology, CHU Sart-Tilman, 4000 Liège, Belgium
Interests: osteoarthritis; biomarkers; cartilage; collagen; treatment

Prof. Dr. Ingrid Meulenbelt
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Leiden University Medical Center, NL-2300 RC Leiden, Netherlands, The Netherlands

Prof. Dr. Martine Cohen-Solal

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Université de Paris, BIOSCAR UMR 1132, Inserm, F-75010 Paris, France
Interests: osteoporosis in elderly and young adults; rare bone diseases; interaction of bone and cartilage
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Osteoarthritis is a severe disease that affects millions of people worldwide, resulting in severe disability and a deterioration in the general condition of patients. To date, there is no curative treatment for this disease. There are at least two reasons for this situation: The molecular mechanisms involved in the early phase of the disease, before the appearance of symptoms and imaging features, are not yet well understood, and there is no soluble biochemical marker to detect early the disease. Therefore, through this Special Issue, we would like to highlight recent discoveries on the factors and signaling pathways involved in the onset and development of the disease as well as molecules which may soon prove to be robust markers for screening the disease. Review or research articles are all welcomed.

Prof. Dr. Yves Edgard Henrotin
Prof. Dr. Ingrid Meulenbelt
Prof. Dr. Martine Cohen-Solal
Guest Editors

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Keywords

Osteoarthritis
biomarkers
cartilage
matrix
molecular

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

Open AccessArticle

Circulating MicroRNAs Highly Correlate to Expression of Cartilage Genes Potentially Reflecting OA Susceptibility—Towards Identification of Applicable Early OA Biomarkers

Yolande F. M. Ramos

Rodrigo Coutinho de Almeida

Rob G. H. H. Nelissen

and

Ingrid Meulenbelt

Biomolecules 2021, 11(9), 1356; https://doi.org/10.3390/biom11091356 - 13 Sep 2021

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1499

Abstract

Objective: To identify and validate circulating micro RNAs (miRNAs) that mark gene expression changes in articular cartilage early in osteoarthritis (OA) pathophysiology process. Methods: Within the ongoing RAAK study, human preserved OA cartilage and plasma (N = 22 paired samples) was collected for RNA sequencing (respectively mRNA and miRNA). Spearman correlation was determined for 114 cartilage genes consistently and significantly differentially expressed early in osteoarthritis and 384 plasma miRNAs. Subsequently, the minimal number of circulating miRNAs serving to discriminate between progressors and non-progressors was assessed by regression analysis and area under receiver operating curves (AUC) was calculated with progression data and plasma miRNA sequencing from the GARP study (N = 71). Results: We identified strong correlations (ρ ≥ |0.7|) among expression levels of 34 unique plasma miRNAs and 21 genes, including 4 genes that correlated with multiple miRNAs. The strongest correlation was between let-7d-5p and EGFLAM (ρ = −0.75, P = 6.9 × 10⁻⁵). Regression analysis of the 34 miRNAs resulted in a set of 7 miRNAs that, when applied to the GARP study, demonstrated clinically relevant predictive value with AUC > 0.8 for OA progression over 2 years and near-clinical value for progression over 5 years- (AUC = 0.8). Conclusions: We show that plasma miRNAs levels reflect gene expression levels in cartilage and can be exploited to represent ongoing pathophysiological processes in articular cartilage. We advocate that identified signature of 7 plasma miRNAs can contribute to direct further studies toward early biomarkers predictive for progression of osteoarthritis over 2 and 5 years. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Molecular Mechanisms and Biomarkers of Osteoarthritis)

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Open AccessArticle

Effect of Rubus idaeus Extracts in Murine Chondrocytes and Explants

Morgane Bourmaud

Mylene Zarka

Romain Le Cozannet

Pascale Fança-Berthon

Eric Hay

and

Martine Cohen-Solal

Biomolecules 2021, 11(2), 245; https://doi.org/10.3390/biom11020245 - 09 Feb 2021

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1415

Abstract

Osteoarthritis is characterized by cartilage loss resulting from the activation of chondrocytes associated with a synovial inflammation. Activated chondrocytes promote an increased secretion of matrix proteases and proinflammatory cytokines leading to cartilage breakdown. Since natural products possess anti-inflammatory properties, we investigated the direct effect of Rubus idaeus extracts (RIE) in chondrocyte metabolism and cartilage loss. The effect of RIE in chondrocyte metabolism was analyzed in murine primary chondrocytes and cartilage explants. We also assessed the contribution of RIE in an inflammation environment by culturing mice primary chondrocytes with the supernatant of Raw 264.7 macrophage-like cells primed with RIE. In primary chondrocytes, RIE diminished chondrocyte hypertrophy (Col10), while increasing the expression of catabolic genes (Mmp-3, Mmp-13) and reducing anabolic genes (Col2a1, Acan). In cartilage explants, Rubus idaeus prevented the loss of proteoglycan (14.84 ± 3.07% loss of proteoglycans with IL1 alone vs. 3.03 ± 1.86% with IL1 and 100 µg/mL of RIE), as well as the NITEGE neoepitope expression. RIE alone reduced the expression of Il1 and Il6 in macrophages, without changes in Tnf and Cox2 expression. The secretome of macrophages pre-treated with RIE and transferred to chondrocytes decreases the gene and protein expression of Mmp-3 and Cox2. In conclusion, these data suggest that RIE may protect from chondrocyte catabolism and cartilage loss in inflammatory conditions. Further evaluations are need before considering RIE as a candidate for the treatment for osteoarthritis. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Molecular Mechanisms and Biomarkers of Osteoarthritis)

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