• The Journal of Korean Medicine
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• v.27 no.1 s.65
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• pp.229-239
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• 2006

Objectives : Articular cartilage is a potential target for drugs designed to inhibit the activity of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) to stop or slow the destruction of the proteoglycan and collagen in the cartilage extracelluar matrix. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of KHBJs for cartilage-protective effect in human and rabbit articular cartilage explants. Methods : The cartilage-protective effects of KHBJ were evaluated by using glycosaminoglycan degradation assay, collagen degradation assay, colorimetric analysis of MMPs activity, and histological analysis in rabbit and human cartilage explants culture. Results : KHBJs significantly inhibited GAG and collagen release of rabbit and human cartilage explant in a concentration-dependent manner. Also, KHBJs inhibited MMP-3 and MMP-13 activities from IL-$1{\alpha}$-treated cartilage explants cultures. Histological analysis indicated that KHBJ004 reduced the degradation of the cartilage matrix compared with that of IL-$1{\alpha}$-treated cartilage explants. KHBJ004 had no harmful effect on chondrocytes viability or cartilage morphology in cartilage explants. Conclusions : These results indicate that KHBJs inhibits the degradation of proteoglycan and collagen through the downregulation of MMP-3 and MMP-13 activities without affecting the viability or morphology of IL-$1{\alpha}$-stimulated rabbit and human articular cartilage explants.

• Journal of the Korean Orthopaedic Association
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• v.54 no.6
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• pp.478-489
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• 2019

Osteoarthritis is a disease characterized by the progression of articular cartilage erosion, that increases pain during joint motion and reduces the ability to withstand mechanical stress, which in turn limits joint mobility and function. Damage to articular cartilage due to trauma or degenerative injury is considered a major cause of arthritis. Numerous studies and attempts have been made to regenerate articular cartilage. In the case of partial degenerative cartilage changes, microfracture and autologous chondrocyte implantation have been proposed as surgical treatment methods, but they have disadvantages such as insufficient mutual binding to the host cells, inaccurate cell delivery, and deterioration of healthy cartilage. Stem cell-based therapies have been developed to compensate for this. This review summarizes the drawbacks and consequences of various cartilage regeneration methods and describes the various attempts to treat cartilage damage. In addition, this review will discuss cartilage regeneration, particularly mesenchymal stem cell engineering-based therapies, and explore how to treat future cartilage regeneration using mesenchymal stem cells.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.148-157
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• 2007

Background & Objective: Articular cartilage is a potential target for drugs designed to inhibit the activity of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) to stop or slow the destruction of the proteoglycanand collagen in the cartilage extracellular matrix. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of Cinnamomum cassia in inhibiting the release of glycosaminoglycan (GAG), the degradation of collagen, and MMP activity in rabbit and human articular cartilage explants. Methods: The cartilage-protective effects of Cinnamomum cassia were evaluated by using glycosaminoglycan degradation assay, collagen degradation assay, colorimetric analysis of MMP activity, measurement of lactate dehydrogenase activity and histological analysis in rabbit cartilage explants culture. Results: Interleukin-1a (IL-1a) rapidly induced GAG, but collagen was much less readily released from cartilage explants. Cinnamomum cassia significantly inhibited GAG and collagen release in a concentration-dependent manner. Cinnamomum cassia dose-dependently inhibited MMP-1, MMP-3 and MMP-13 activities from IL-1a-treated cartilage explants culture when tested at concentrations ranging from 0.02 to 1 mg/ml. Conclusion : These results indicate that Cinnamomum cassia inhibits the degradation of proteoglycan and collagen through the down regulation of MMP-1, MMP-3 and MMP-13 activities of IL-1a-stimulated rabbit and human articular cartilage explants.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.191-201
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• 2005

Background & Objective: Articular cartilage is a potential target for drugs designed to inhibit the activity of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) to stop or slow the destruction of the proteoglycan and collagen in the cartilage extracellular matrix. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of Aralia cordata Thunb. in inhibiting the release of glycosaminoglycan (GAG), the degradation of collagen, and MMP activity in rabbit articular cartilage explants. Methods : The cartilage-protective effects of Aralia cordata Thunb. were evaluated by using glycosaminoglycan degradation assay, collagen degradation assay, colorimetric analysis of MMP activity, measurement of lactate dehydrogenase activity and histological analysis in rabbit cartilage explants culture. Results : Interleukin-la (IL-1a) rapidly induced GAG, but collagen was much less readily released from cartilage explants. Aralia cordata Thunb. significantly inhibited GAG and collagen release in a concentration-dependent manner. Aralia cordata Thunb. dose-dependently inhibited MMP-3 and MMP-13 expression and activities from IL-1a-treated cartilage explants cultures when tested at concentrations ranging from 0.02 to 0.2 mg/ml. Aralia cordata Thunb. had no harmful effect on chondrocytes viability or cartilage morphology in cartilage explants. Histological analysis indicated that Aralia cordata Thunb. reduced the degradation of the cartilage matrix compared with that of IL -1a-treated cartilage explants.

• Investigative Magnetic Resonance Imaging
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.228-240
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• 2019

Purpose: The aim of this study is to evaluate the T2 value of the articular cartilage of the glenohumeral joint in rotator cuff disease displayed on 3.0T MRI and to apply it in clinical practice. Materials and Methods: This study involved sixty-two patients who underwent shoulder MRI containing T2 mapping. The mean T2 value was measured by placing a free hand ROI over the glenoid or humeral cartilage from the bone-cartilage interface to the articular surface on three consecutive, oblique coronal images. The drawn ROI was subsequently divided into superior and inferior segments. The assessed mean T2 values of the articular cartilage of the glenohumeral joint were compared and evaluated based on the degree of rotator cuff tear, the degree of fatty atrophy of the rotator cuff, and the acromiohumeral distance. Results: ICC values between two readers indicated moderate or good reproducibility. The mean T2 value for the articular cartilage of the glenoid and humeral head cartilage failed to show any significant difference based on the degree of rotator cuff tear. However, the mean T2 values of articular cartilage, based on fatty atrophy, tended to be higher in fatty atrophy 3 or fatty atrophy 4 groups while some subregions displayed significantly higher mean T2 values. There was no correlation between the acromiohumeral distance and the mean T2 values of the articular cartilage of the glenoid and humeral head. Conclusion: T2 mapping of the glenohumeral joint failed to show any significant difference in quantitative analysis of the degenerative change of the articular cartilage based on the degree of rotator cuff tear. However, it also offers quantitative information on the degenerative change of cartilage of the glenohumeral joint in patients with rotator cuff tear and severe fatty atrophy of the rotator cuff.

• Journal of the Optical Society of Korea
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.98-102
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• 2008

Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) is an important noninvasive medical imaging technique that can reveal subsurface structures of biological tissue. OCT has demonstrated a good correlation with histology in sufficient resolution to identify morphological changes in articular cartilage to differentiate normal through progressive stages of degenerative joint disease. Current OCT systems provide individual cross-sectional images that are representative of the tissue directly under the scanning beam, but they may not fully demonstrate the degree of degeneration occurring within a region of a joint surface. For a full understanding of the nature and degree of cartilage degeneration within a joint, multiple OCT images must be obtained and an overall assessment of the joint surmised from multiple individual images. This study presents frequency domain three-dimensional (3-D) OCT imaging of degenerative joint cartilage extracted from bovine knees. The 3-D OCT imaging of articular cartilage enables the assembly of 126 individual, adjacent, rapid scanned OCT images into a full 3-D image representation of the tissue scanned, or these may be viewed in a progression of successive individual two-dimensional (2-D) OCT images arranged in 3-D orientation. A fiber-based frequency domain OCT system that provides cross-sectional images was used to acquire 126 successive adjacent images for a sample volume of $6{\times}3.2{\times}2.5\;mm^3$. The axial resolution was $8\;{\mu}m$ in air. The 3-D OCT was able to demonstrate surface topography and subsurface disruption of articular cartilage consistent with the gross image as well as with histological cross-sections of the specimen. The 3-D OCT volumetric imaging of articular cartilage provides an enhanced appreciation and better understanding of regional degenerative joint disease than may be realized by individual 2-D OCT sectional images.

• Proceedings of the PSK Conference
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• 2003.10b
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• pp.235.1-235.1
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• 2003

With an aim of obtaining high efficacy in cartilage regeneration, implantable polymeric rods were fabricated. These rod-type matrices were anticipated to perform structural tissue supporting activity and enhance extracellular matrix (ECM) formation by releasing specific agent, DHEA-S, in controlled manner. It is expected that application for the drilling operation on the articular cartilage of OA patients as the implants may promote regeneration of their cartilage. Osteoarthritis (OA) is a degenerative joint disease characterized by progressive loss of articular cartilage, subchondral bone remodeling, spur formation, and synovial inflammation. (omitted)

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.38 no.8
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• pp.677-684
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• 2015

Osteoarthritis (OA) is one of the most prevalent forms of joint disorder, associated with a tremendous socioeconomic burden worldwide. Various non-genetic and lifestyle-related factors such as aging and obesity have been recognized as major risk factors for OA, underscoring the potential role for epigenetic regulation in the pathogenesis of the disease. OA-associated epigenetic aberrations have been noted at the level of DNA methylation and histone modification in chondrocytes. These epigenetic regulations are implicated in driving an imbalance between the expression of catabolic and anabolic factors, leading eventually to osteoarthritic cartilage destruction. Cellular senescence and metabolic abnormalities driven by OA-associated risk factors appear to accompany epigenetic drifts in chondrocytes. Notably, molecular events associated with metabolic disorders influence epigenetic regulation in chondrocytes, supporting the notion that OA is a metabolic disease. Here, we review accumulating evidence supporting a role for epigenetics in the regulation of cartilage homeostasis and OA pathogenesis.

• Journal of Biomedical Engineering Research
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• v.36 no.2
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• pp.43-47
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• 2015

Osteoarthritis is the most common chronic joint disease in the world. With its progression, cartilage thickness tends to diminish, which causes severe pain to human being. One way to examine the stage of osteoarthritis is to measure the cartilage thickness. When it comes to inter-subject study, however, it is not easy task to compare cartilage thickness since every human being has different cartilage structure. In this paper, we propose a method to assess cartilage defect using MRI inter-subject thickness comparison. First, we used manual segmentation method to build accurate atlas images and each segmented image was labeled as articular surface and bone-cartilage interface in order to measure the thickness. Secondly, each point in the bone-cartilage interface was assigned the measured thickness so that the thickness does not change after registration. We used affine transformation and SyGN to get deformation fields which were then applied to thickness images to have cartilage thickness atlas. In this way, it is possible to investigate pixel-by-pixel thickness comparison. Lastly, the atlas images were made according to their osteoarthritis grade which indicates the degree of its progression. The result atlas images were compared using the analysis of variance in order to verify the validity of our method. The result shows that a significant difference is existed among them with p < 0.001.

• Biomedical Science Letters
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• v.8 no.3
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• pp.195-202
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• 2002

Osteoarthritis (OA), the most common form of arthritis, involves the destabilization of the normal balance between the degradation and the synthesis of articular cartilage and subchondral bone within a joint. As articular cartilage degrades over time, its smooth surface roughens and bone-against-bone contact ensues, producing the inflammation response symptomatic of this 'wear and tear' disease. Although a variety of genetic, developmental, metabolic, and traumatic factors may initiate the development of osteoarthritis, its symptoms (joint pain, stiffness, and curtailed function) typically evolve slowly, and patients experience periods of relative calm alternation with episodes of inflammation and pain. Rheumatoid arthritis (RA), an autoimmune disease of unknown etiology characterized by chronic synovitis and cartilage destruction, affect 1% of the total population. Cartilage is a specialized connective tissue in which the chondrocytes occupy only 5% of the volume. Cartilage is particularly rich in extracellular matrix, with matrix making up 90% of the dry weight of the tissue chondrocytes have cell processes that extend a short distance into the matrix, but do not touch other cells thus in cartilage, cell-matrix interactions are essential for the maintenance of the extracellular matrix. In this study, subtractive hybridization method was utilized to detect genes differentially expressed in chondrocytes treated with methylprednisolone. We have isolated 57 genes that expressed differentially in the chondreocytes by methylprednisolone. 13 clones of them were analyzed with sequencing and their homologies were searched. 8 cDNAS included KIAA 0368, upregulated during skeletal muscle growth 5 (usmg 5), ribosomal protein S 18 (RPS 18), skeletal muscle ryanodine receptor, radial spoke protein 3 (RSP 3), ribosomal protein QM, ribosomal protein L37a (RPL37A), cytochrome coxidase subunit VIII (COX8).