Nutrition and degeneration of articular cartilage

PURPOSE: To determine the importance of synovial fluid (SF) or subchondral bone marrow (BM) as nutrition sources in cartilage degeneration. METHODS: Ninety-five-month-old male rabbits were randomly divided into 5 groups according to sources of nutrition: SFBM-both; BM-only; SF-only; None-SFBM; and Free plug (unrestricted). Nutrition to 4-mm-diameter cylindrical osteochondral plugs created on the trochlea of the distal femurs was obstructed by Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) cap. Cartilage changes were assessed after 4, 8, and 12 weeks by histology, immunohistochemistry, and real-time PCR. RESULTS: Cartilage in the BM-only group suffered the greatest damage, followed by the None-SFBM and SF-only groups. Apoptosis was increased in the BM-only and None-SFBM groups compared with others. Cartilage was significantly thinner at all time points in the BM-only and None-SFBM groups when compared with SFBM-both and Free plug, whereas in the SF-only group, this difference occurred after 8 weeks. Compared with SFBM-both and Free plug, expression of collagen II and aggrecan mRNAs in all groups was decreased but MMP-3 increased, respectively. CONCLUSION: Our data indicate that SF-derived nutrition is the dominant source of sustenance for adult cartilage structure and function. Cartilage damage is observed when the only nutrition source is the BM. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s00167-012-1977-7) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.