View article

To examine whether type II collagen cleavage by collagenase and loss of proteoglycan are excessive in human osteoarthritic (OA) articular cartilage compared with nonarthritic articular cartilage, and whether this can be inhibited by a selective synthetic inhibitor that spares collagenase 1 (matrix metalloproteinase 1 [MMP‐1]).

Articular cartilage samples were obtained during surgery from 11 patients with OA and at autopsy from 5 adults without arthritis. The articular cartilage samples were cultured in serum‐free medium. A collagenase‐generated neoepitope, which reflects cleavage of type II collagen, and proteoglycan glycosaminoglycan (GAG), which predominantly reflects aggrecan release, were assayed in culture media. In addition, cultures were performed using either of 2 synthetic MMP inhibitors, both of which inhibited collagenase 2 (MMP‐8) and collagenase 3 (MMP‐13), but one of …