An early event in joint disease is a progressive destruction of the articular cartilage following degradation of matrix macromolecular constituents. The fragments thus formed are released into surrounding fluids by diffusion and can be detected and quantified by immunoassay. By using assays for macromolecules/fragments specific for cartilage, it is possible to monitor processes in a given articula

OBJECTIVE: To investigate whether fragmentation of proteoglycans in arthritis results in domains that have different levels of release from cartilage at different stages of the disease.METHODS: Two regions of the proteoglycan, the hyaluronan-binding region and the glycosaminoglycan-rich region of the core protein, were measured, by immunoassay, in knee joint synovial fluids of patients with rheuma

Cartilage oligomeric matrix protein (COMP) is a tissue specific non-collagenous matrix protein. We have developed an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for the detection of this protein in synovial fluid and serum. The protein has been quantified in these fluids in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), reactive arthritis, juvenile chronic arthritis, osteoarthritis and in sera of control subjects

We present here a family with a clinical phenotype resembling Marfan syndrome (MFS), and displaying joint contracture and episodes of knee joint effusions, but lacking the cardiovascular features of the syndrome. The phenotype of this family represents a unique mixture of connective tissue symptoms, some of which are found in classical MFS and some of which are typical of dominant ectopia lentis.

Objective. Bone sialoprotein (BSP) was quantified in synovial fluids and sera from rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients to elucidate whether its release from bone relates to the degree of joint tissue destruction. Osteocalcin was assayed for comparison. Methods. BSP and osteocalcin levels were determined by immunoassays of knee synovial fluids and of sera from RA patients who were selected on the

Altered dynamics of cartilage and bone matrix in joint diseases results in increased release of macromolecules into synovial fluid (SF). Such macromolecules are increasingly explored as potential markers of damage and severity. This report focuses on the possibilities of using quantification of tissue specific markers for grading the tissue lesion at the molecular level in arthritis. The theoretic

Cartilage and bone, the principal tissues of the diar-throdial joint, are dynamic tissues with continuous matrix turnover. These tissues, like all connective tissues, contain few cells surrounded by an abundant matrix. The cells, e.g. the chondrocytes in cartilage, regulate both synthesis and degradation of the matrix constituents in response to various environmental factors, such as hormones, nut

We present a novel animal model for rheumatoid arthritis induced with a well defined synthetic adjuvant oil, pristane. Two weeks after a single intradermal injection of 150 microliters of pristane, the rats developed severe and chronic arthritis. The inflammation was restricted to the joints and involved pannus formation, major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class II expression, and T lymphocyte