Injury Causes Altered Metabolism including O₂ Consumption in Bovine and Human Chondrocytes

Traumatic joint injuries both disrupt chondrocyte metabolism and increase the risk for post-traumatic osteoarthritis. Yet the relationships between trauma, altered metabolism, and cartilage degradation remains unclear. This study compares the metabolic responses of bovine (normal) and osteoarthritic (OA) chondrocytes to physiological and injurious mechanical stimuli under normoxic (20% O₂) and hypoxic (5% O₂) conditions. Using primary chondrocytes encapsulated in agarose, physiological and injurious mechanical stimulation, targeted metabolomic profiling of central carbon metabolites, and O₂ saturation measurements, we find that healthy bovine chondrocytes exhibit robust, time-dependent adaptation to mechanical stimuli, whereas OA chondrocytes display a blunted response, particularly under injury conditions. Injurious mechanical stimuli led to altered O₂ consumption and glutamine accumulation, suggesting disrupted respiration and reduced protein synthesis hypothesized to be a result of altered mitochondrial metabolism in OA cells. These findings underscore the role of mechanical cues in chondrocyte metabolism and inform future studies aimed at identifying metabolic targets relevant to post-traumatic osteoarthritis progression.