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Updated: May 15, 2026
Standardized Histomorphometric Evaluation of Osteoarthritis in a Surgical Mouse Model
Published on: May 6, 2020
Expression of CD44 in articular cartilage is associated with disease severity in knee osteoarthritis
Fang-Jie Zhang1, Wei Luo, Shu-Guang Gao
1Department of Orthopaedics, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, #87 Xiangya Road, 410008, Changsha, Hunan, China.
Objectives:
To investigate CD44 levels in articular cartilage of knee osteoarthritis (OA) and the relationship between CD44 and severity of the disease.
Methods:
All 50 cartilage tissues included normal and OA cartilage, and were ascribed to the following four groups on the basis of modified Mankin score: normal, mild lesions, moderate lesions and severe lesions. CD44 levels in articular cartilage were assessed by immunohistochemical methods.
Results:
CD44 levels were detected in all four groups. The difference in average gray value of CD44 expression showed statistical significance when compared between each group (P < 0.05). In addition, CD44 expression in each group correlated with disease severity, according to the modified Mankin score (ρ = -0.848, P < 0.01).
Conclusions:
CD44 in articular cartilage is associated with progressive knee OA joint damage.
