In vitro wear of articular cartilage

Seeking a reliable chemical index of the wear of articular cartilage during in vitro experiments, the contents of hydroxyproline, hexosamine, and the amino acid composition of adult bovine articular cartilage were determined as functions of depth from the surface. The hydroxyproline content, expressed as per cent of dry weight of tissue, was constant throughout the thickness of the tissue except in a surface region approximately twenty-five micrometers thick; the hexosamine content in this region was less than in the interior of the tissue; the collagen content was higher and the amino acid composition was less like that of pure collagen here than in the interior, indicating that the content of noncollagenous protein in the superficial layer of cartilage was greater than that in the interior. It was also evident that adult bovine articular cartilage contains significant amounts of collagen with a low hydroxylysine content, presumably Type I as well as Type II. Since the content of hydroxyproline is constant throughout the cartilage and the collagen and proteoglycan constituents of the intact tissue are relatively insoluble, the hydroxyproline content of the lubricant and the wear debris can be used to measure the extent of wear of articular cartilage during in vitro experiments. However, approximately 10 per cent of the hydroxyproline and 50 to 60 per cent of the glycosaminoglycans of the wear debris are dissolved in the lubricating fluid. Therefore, both the lubricant (solvent) and the solid wear debris must be analyzed to determine the amount of cartilage wear.