Integrating Articular Cartilage Histopathology with CTX-II and COMP as Synovial Fluid Biomarkers for a Comprehensive Analysis in Osteoarthritis Evaluation

first_page Download PDF settings Order Article Reprints Font Type: Arial Georgia Verdana Font Size: Aa Aa Aa Line Spacing:    Column Width:    Background: Open AccessAbstract Integrating Articular Cartilage Histopathology with CTX-II and COMP as Synovial Fluid Biomarkers for a Comprehensive Analysis in Osteoarthritis Evaluation † by Sofija SemenistajaSofija Semenistaja SciProfiles Scilit Preprints.org Google Scholar 1,*, Lība SokolovskaLība Sokolovska SciProfiles Scilit Preprints.org Google Scholar 2, Pēteris StudersPēteris Studers SciProfiles Scilit Preprints.org Google Scholar 3,4, Anda KadišaAnda Kadiša SciProfiles Scilit Preprints.org Google Scholar 5, Valērija GromaValērija Groma SciProfiles Scilit Preprints.org Google Scholar 6 and Sandra SkujaSandra Skuja SciProfiles Scilit Preprints.org Google Scholar 6 1 Department of Doctoral Studies, Rīga Stradiņš University, LV-1007 Riga, Latvia 2 Institute of Microbiology and Virology, Rīga Stradiņš University, Rātsupītes St. 5, LV-1067 Riga, Latvia 3 Joint Laboratory of Traumatology and Orthopaedics, Rīga Stradiņš University, LV-1005 Riga, Latvia 4 Hospital of Traumatology and Orthopaedics, Duntes St. 22, LV-1005 Riga, Latvia 5 Department of Internal Diseases, Rīga Stradiņš University, LV-1007 Riga, Latvia 6 Joint Laboratory of Electron Microscopy, Institute of Anatomy and Anthropology, Rīga Stradiņš University, Kronvalda blvd 9, LV-1010 Riga, Latvia * Author to whom correspondence should be addressed. † Presented at the 3rd International Electronic Conference on Biomolecules, 23–25 April 2024; Available online: https://sciforum.net/event/IECBM2024. Proceedings 2024, 103(1), 38; https://doi.org/10.3390/proceedings2024103038 Published: 12 April 2024 (This article belongs to the Proceedings of The 3rd International Electronic Conference on Biomolecules) Download keyboard_arrow_down Download PDF Download PDF with Cover Download XML Download Epub Browse Figure Versions Notes Keywords: osteoarthritis; biomarkers; degradation; CTX-II; COMP; synovial fluid; cells 1. Introduction Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common form of chronic joint disease characterized by the loss of cartilage as the primary site of the lesion. Both collagenous and non-collagenous proteins of the extracellular matrix (ECM) are dysregulated by the cellular component damage. Alterations in cartilage composition may manifest through variations in synovial fluid concentrations of C-terminal cross-linked telopeptides of type II collagen (CTX-II) and cartilage oligomeric matrix protein (COMP) [1]. This study seeks to decode histological alterations in the cartilage and establish a symbiotic relationship with concentrations of specific ECM proteins within the synovial fluid as potential OA biomarkers [2,3,4]. 2. Methods Twenty-five surgically obtained cartilage tissue samples were stained with toluidine blue and analysed using the OARSI histopathological grading system under a light microscope both quantitatively and semi-quantitatively [5]. The presence of CTX-II and COMP proteins was measured in the synovial fluid samples using ELISA. The SPSS 28.0 program was used for statistical data analysis. 3. Results The OARSI score median value was 4.0 (3.0;4.5), attributable to the delamination of the superficial cartilage zone. A greater number of single cells in comparison with cellular clusters was found: 60.00 (45.00;84.00) and 26.00 (22.00;48.00), respectively. Proteoglycan staining was 1.00 (1.00;2.00), attributable to low intensity (Figure 1). A negative correlation between ECM oedema and proteoglycan staining was found (r = −0.445; p = 0.043). The mean levels of CTX-II and COMP in synovial fluid were 1092 pg/mL (SD 537.95) and 1262 ng/mL (SD 339.47), respectively. There was a positive correlation between CTX-II and OA radiographic severity (r = 0.305; p = 0.041); the COMP and OA radiographic severity correlation was negative (r = −0.286; p = 0.049). 4. ConclusionsThe identified positive correlation between OA radiographic severity and CTX-II levels in synovial fluid suggests that CTX-II may hold promise as a valuable biomarker for tracking OA progression. This implication opens up possibilities for early detection and targeted interventions in the management of the disease. Author ContributionsConceptualization, S.S. (Sofija Semenistaja) and S.S. (Sandra Skuja); methodology, S.S. (Sofija Semenistaja) and S.S. (Sandra Skuja); formal analysis, S.S. (Sofija Semenistaja) and L.S.; data curation, L.S., P.S., S.S. (Sofija Semenistaja); writing—original draft preparation, S.S. (Sofija Semenistaja) and S.S. (Sandra Skuja); writing—review and editing, S.S. (Sofija Semenistaja), S.S. (Sandra Skuja), A.K. and V.G. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.FundingThis study received no external funding.Institutional Review Board StatementThe study was conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki, and approved by the Ethics Committee of Rīga Stradiņš University (Decision 2-PĒK-4/36/2023 on 7 January 2023).Informed Consent StatementInformed consent was obtained from all subjects involved in the study.Data Availability StatementA publicly available bibliographic database, PubMed.gov, was used in this study. The full bibliographic reference list is available upon request from the corresponding author.Conflicts of InterestThe authors declare no conflict of interest.ReferencesLiu, C.; Gao, G.; Qin, X.; Deng, C.; Shen, X. 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[Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]Pritzker, K.P.H.; Gay, S.; Jimenez, S.A.; Ostergaard, K.; Pelletier, J.-P.; Revell, P.A.; Salter, D.; Van Den Berg, W.B. Osteoarthritis Cartilage Histopathology: Grading and Staging. Osteoarthr. Cartil. 2006, 14, 13–29. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed] Figure 1. The histopathological evaluation of osteoarthritic cartilage tissue stained with toluidine blue: (A) Uneven but intact cartilage surface, occasional cellular changes, OARSI histopathological grading score 1.5; (B) Delamination of the superficial cartilage zone, vertical fissures extending into mid zone reveal some slight branching characteristic of an OARSI histopathological grading score 3.5 (white arrows); (C) Denudation of the cartilage attributable to an OARSI histopathological grading score 5.5; (D) Cartilage extracellular matrix oedema, reduced proteoglycan staining, and hypocellularity with single cells (black arrow) and rare cellular clusters visible (white arrow). Original magnification ×250, scale bars 50 µm. Figure 1. The histopathological evaluation of osteoarthritic cartilage tissue stained with toluidine blue: (A) Uneven but intact cartilage surface, occasional cellular changes, OARSI histopathological grading score 1.5; (B) Delamination of the superficial cartilage zone, vertical fissures extending into mid zone reveal some slight branching characteristic of an OARSI histopathological grading score 3.5 (white arrows); (C) Denudation of the cartilage attributable to an OARSI histopathological grading score 5.5; (D) Cartilage extracellular matrix oedema, reduced proteoglycan staining, and hypocellularity with single cells (black arrow) and rare cellular clusters visible (white arrow). Original magnification ×250, scale bars 50 µm. Disclaimer/Publisher's Note: The statements, opinions and data contained in all publications are solely those of the individual author(s) and contributor(s) and not of MDPI and/or the editor(s). MDPI and/or the editor(s) disclaim responsibility for any injury to people or property resulting from any ideas, methods, instructions or products referred to in the content. © 2024 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Share and Cite MDPI and ACS Style Semenistaja, S.; Sokolovska, L.; Studers, P.; Kadiša, A.; Groma, V.; Skuja, S. Integrating Articular Cartilage Histopathology with CTX-II and COMP as Synovial Fluid Biomarkers for a Comprehensive Analysis in Osteoarthritis Evaluation. Proceedings 2024, 103, 38. https://doi.org/10.3390/proceedings2024103038 AMA Style Semenistaja S, Sokolovska L, Studers P, Kadiša A, Groma V, Skuja S. Integrating Articular Cartilage Histopathology with CTX-II and COMP as Synovial Fluid Biomarkers for a Comprehensive Analysis in Osteoarthritis Evaluation. Proceedings. 2024; 103(1):38. https://doi.org/10.3390/proceedings2024103038 Chicago/Turabian Style Semenistaja, Sofija, Lība Sokolovska, Pēteris Studers, Anda Kadiša, Valērija Groma, and Sandra Skuja. 2024. "Integrating Articular Cartilage Histopathology with CTX-II and COMP as Synovial Fluid Biomarkers for a Comprehensive Analysis in Osteoarthritis Evaluation" Proceedings 103, no. 1: 38. https://doi.org/10.3390/proceedings2024103038 Article Metrics No No Article Access Statistics Multiple requests from the same IP address are counted as one view.