Related Experiment Video For Cartilage
Updated: Jun 19, 2025
Standardized Histomorphometric Evaluation of Osteoarthritis in a Surgical Mouse Model
Published on: May 6, 2020
Epigenomic differences between osteoarthritis grades in primary cartilage
Peter Kreitmaier1, Diane Swift2, J Mark Wilkinson2
1Technical University of Munich (TUM) and Klinikum Rechts der Isar, TUM School of Medicine and Health, Ismaninger Str. 22, 81675 Munich, Germany; Graduate School of Experimental Medicine, TUM School of Medicine and Health, Technical University of Munich, 81675 Munich, Germany; Institute of Translational Genomics, Helmholtz Zentrum München, German Research Center for Environmental Health, 85764 Neuherberg, Germany.
Objective:
Osteoarthritis is a common and complex joint disorder that shows higher prevalence and greater disease severity in women. Here, we investigate genome-wide methylation profiles of primary chondrocytes from osteoarthritis patients.
Design:
We compare genome-wide methylation profiles of macroscopically intact (low-grade) and degraded (high-grade) osteoarthritis cartilage samples matched from osteoarthritis patients undergoing knee replacement surgery. We perform an epigenome-wide association study for cartilage degeneration across 170 patients and separately in 96 women and 74 men.
Results:
We reveal widespread epigenetic differences with enrichments of nervous system and apoptosis-related processes. We further identify substantial similarities between sexes, but also sex-specific markers and pathways.
Conclusions:
Together, we provide the largest genome-wide methylation profiles of primary cartilage to date with enhanced and sex-specific insights into epigenetic processes underlying osteoarthritis progression.
