CHEMICAL STABILIZATION OF CARTILAGE MATRIX

Severe destruction of articular cartilage in osteoarthritis manifests clinically when repair processes cannot keep up with the catabolic pro cesses. Loss of proteoglycans, which give the tissue its ability to un dergo reversible deformation, precedes and probably contributes signif icantly to breakdown of the matrix in the most superficial layers of a rticular cartilage. In this study, we have examined the ability of dit hio-bis[succinimidyl proprionate], a bifunctional reagent with a 1.2-n m span that cross-links proteins at lysine amino acid, and poly-L-lysi ne of high molecular weight (average MW 360,000) to reduce passive los s of proteoglycans and collagen from thin slices (40 and 200 mu m) of bovine nasal and human patellar cartilage incubated for 7 days in buff er at 4 degrees C. We present evidence that treatment of thin slices o f cartilage with either of these agents is effective in reducing the l oss of proteoglycans and collagen from the cartilage matrix and we def ine conditions (length of treatment and concentrations required) under which the stabilization of the cartilage matrix is optimized. Chemica l stabilization of cartilage matrix may become an important modality o f treatment in osteoarthritis by protecting the environment around cho ndrocytes during the repair process. (C) 1994 Academic Press, Inc.