Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 12, 2026

Software-Assisted Quantitative Measurement of Osteoarthritic Subchondral Bone Thickness
Published on: March 18, 2022
Influence of interleukin 1 beta on tenascin distribution in human normal and osteoarthritic cartilage: a quantitative
X Chevalier1, P Claudepierre, N Groult
1Department of Rheumatology, Henri-Mondor hospital, Creteil, France.
Insights
Interleukin-1 beta (IL-1 beta) influences tenascin presence in human cartilage. This cytokine increases tenascin in normal and osteoarthritic cartilage, particularly in superficial layers of damaged tissue.
Area of Science:
- Biochemistry
- Cell Biology
- Rheumatology
Background:
- Tenascin is a matrix glycoprotein implicated in tissue remodeling.
- Interleukin-1 beta (IL-1 beta) is a key pro-inflammatory cytokine in cartilage degradation.
- Understanding cytokine influence on matrix components is crucial for osteoarthritis research.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the effect of IL-1 beta on tenascin expression and distribution.
- To compare tenascin presence in normal versus osteoarthritic human cartilage explants.
- To determine if IL-1 beta modulates tenascin in these cartilage models.
Main Methods:
- Human normal and osteoarthritic cartilage explants were cultured.
- Explants were treated with or without IL-1 beta (10 ng/ml).
- Tenascin was detected via immunohistochemistry (BC-4 antibody) and quantified using video imaging densitometry.
Main Results:
- Tenascin was detected in normal and elevated in osteoarthritic cartilage.
- IL-1 beta treatment significantly increased tenascin content in both normal and osteoarthritic explants.
- The increase induced by IL-1 beta was more pronounced in normal cartilage and localized to superficial layers in damaged cartilage.
- No clear correlation was observed between proteoglycan loss and tenascin levels.
Conclusions:
- Interleukin-1 beta (IL-1 beta) significantly influences the presence and distribution of tenascin in human cartilage.
- IL-1 beta upregulates tenascin in both healthy and osteoarthritic cartilage explants.
- These findings highlight the role of IL-1 beta in modulating extracellular matrix composition during cartilage pathology.
Objective:
To determine the influence of IL-1 beta on the presence and the distribution of tenascin in matrix of human normal and osteoarthritic cartilage explants.
Methods:
Cartilage was grown in organotypic culture with or without IL-1 beta (10 ng ml1). Tenascin antigen was detected on cryopreserved cartilage sections by immunohistochemical techniques with a monoclonal antibody directed against all tenascin isoforms (BC-4), and then quantified by video imaging densitometry.
Results:
Tenascin was present in normal cartilage explants and increased in osteoarthritic cartilage explants. Treatment of normal and osteoarthritic cartilage explants with IL-1 beta (10 ng ml-1) induced an increase in tenascin content, which was particularly high in normal cartilage and predominated in the superficial layers of damaged cartilage. There was no obvious correlation between proteoglycan loss and presence of tenascin.
Conclusions:
In human normal and osteoarthritic cartilage explants, the presence and the distribution of tenascin are influenced by IL-1 beta.

