Abstract
Osteoarthritis is a whole joint disease characterised by the disappearance of the cartilage associated with subchondral bone sclerosis, formation of osteophytes and a mild inflammation of the synovial membrane. Although all these events have been independently studied, functional interactions between these different joint tissues should exist, especially between subchondral bone and cartilage. Moreover, recent studies show that cartilage and subchondral bone act as a single functional unit. This review highlights this novel concept.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Bijlsma JW, Berenbaum F, Lafeber FP (2011) Osteoarthritis: an update with relevance for clinical practice. Lancet 377:2115–2126
Zuscik MJ, Hilton MJ, Zhang X, Chen D, O’Keefe RJ (2008) Regulation of chondrogenesis and chondrocyte differentiation by stress. J Clin Invest 118:429–438
Fawns HT, Landells JW (1953) Histochemical studies of rheumatic conditions. I. Observations on the fine structures of the matrix of normal bone and cartilage. Ann Rheum Dis 12:105–113
Berenbaum F, Jacques C, Thomas G, Corvol MT, Bereziat G, Masliah J (1996) Synergistic effect of interleukin-1 beta and tumor necrosis factor alpha on PGE2 production by articular chondrocytes does not involve PLA2 stimulation. Exp Cell Res 222:379–384
Gosset M, Berenbaum F, Levy A, Pigenet A, Thirion S, Saffar JL, Jacques C (2006) Prostaglandin E2 synthesis in cartilage explants under compression: mPGES-1 is a mechanosensitive gene. Arthritis Res Ther 8:R135
Gosset M, Pigenet A, Salvat C, Berenbaum F, Jacques C (2010) Inhibition of matrix metalloproteinase-3 and −13 synthesis induced by IL-1beta in chondrocytes from mice lacking microsomal prostaglandin E synthase-1. J Immunol 185:6244–6252
Lorenz H, Richter W (2006) Osteoarthritis: cellular and molecular changes in degenerating cartilage. Prog Histochem Cytochem 40:135–163
Pfander D, Rahmanzadeh R, Scheller EE (1999) Presence and distribution of collagen II, collagen I, fibronectin, and tenascin in rabbit normal and osteoarthritic cartilage. J Rheumatol 26:386–394
Kirsch T, Swoboda B, Nah H (2000) Activation of annexin II and V expression, terminal differentiation, mineralization and apoptosis in human osteoarthritic cartilage. Osteoarthr Cartil 8:294–302
Fuerst M, Bertrand J, Lammers L, Dreier R, Echtermeyer F, Nitschke Y, Rutsch F, Schafer FK, Niggemeyer O, Steinhagen J, Lohmann CH, Pap T, Ruther W (2009) Calcification of articular cartilage in human osteoarthritis. Arthritis Rheum 60:2694–2703
Pullig O, Weseloh G, Ronneberger D, Kakonen S, Swoboda B (2000) Chondrocyte differentiation in human osteoarthritis: expression of osteocalcin in normal and osteoarthritic cartilage and bone. Calcif Tissue Int 67:230–240
Jiang J, Leong NL, Mung JC, Hidaka C, Lu HH (2008) Interaction between zonal populations of articular chondrocytes suppresses chondrocyte mineralization and this process is mediated by PTHrP. Osteoarthr Cartil 16:70–82
Radin EL, Rose, RM (1986) Role of subchondral bone in the initiation and progression of cartilage damage. Clin Orthop Relat Res 34–40
Dieppe P, Cushnaghan J, Young P, Kirwan J (1993) Prediction of the progression of joint space narrowing in osteoarthritis of the knee by bone scintigraphy. Ann Rheum Dis 52:557–563
Hayami T, Pickarski M, Wesolowski GA, McLane J, Bone A, Destefano J, Rodan GA, Duong le T (2004) The role of subchondral bone remodeling in osteoarthritis: reduction of cartilage degeneration and prevention of osteophyte formation by alendronate in the rat anterior cruciate ligament transection model. Arthritis Rheum 50:1193–1206
Botter SM, Glasson SS, Hopkins B, Clockaerts S, Weinans H, van Leeuwen JP, van Osch GJ (2009) ADAMTS5−/− mice have less subchondral bone changes after induction of osteoarthritis through surgical instability: implications for a link between cartilage and subchondral bone changes. Osteoarthr Cartil 17:636–645
Oettmeier R, Arokoski J, Roth AJ, Helminen HJ, Tammi M, Abendroth K (1992) Quantitative study of articular cartilage and subchondral bone remodeling in the knee joint of dogs after strenuous running training. J Bone Miner Res 7(Suppl 2):S419–S424
Hilal G, Martel-Pelletier J, Pelletier JP, Ranger P, Lajeunesse D (1998) Osteoblast-like cells from human subchondral osteoarthritic bone demonstrate an altered phenotype in vitro: possible role in subchondral bone sclerosis. Arthritis Rheum 41:891–899
Hopwood B, Tsykin A, Findlay DM, Fazzalari NL (2007) Microarray gene expression profiling of osteoarthritic bone suggests altered bone remodelling, WNT and transforming growth factor-beta/bone morphogenic protein signalling. Arthritis Res Ther 9:R100
Sanchez C, Deberg MA, Bellahcene A, Castronovo V, Msika P, Delcour JP, Crielaard JM, Henrotin YE (2008) Phenotypic characterization of osteoblasts from the sclerotic zones of osteoarthritic subchondral bone. Arthritis Rheum 58:442–455
Westacott CI, Webb GR, Warnock MG, Sims JV, Elson CJ (1997) Alteration of cartilage metabolism by cells from osteoarthritic bone. Arthritis Rheum 40:1282–1291
Sanchez C, Deberg MA, Piccardi N, Msika P, Reginster JY, Henrotin YE (2005) Osteoblasts from the sclerotic subchondral bone downregulate aggrecan but upregulate metalloproteinases expression by chondrocytes. This effect is mimicked by interleukin-6, -1beta and oncostatin M pre-treated non-sclerotic osteoblasts. Osteoarthr Cartil 13:979–987
Sanchez C, Gabay O, Salvat C, Henrotin YE, Berenbaum F (2009) Mechanical loading highly increases IL-6 production and decreases OPG expression by osteoblasts. Osteoarthr Cartil 17:473–481
Mackie EJ, Ahmed YA, Tatarczuch L, Chen KS, Mirams M (2008) Endochondral ossification: how cartilage is converted into bone in the developing skeleton. Int J Biochem Cell Biol 40:46–62
Arkill KP, Winlove CP (2008) Solute transport in the deep and calcified zones of articular cartilage. Osteoarthr Cartil 16:708–714
Guevremont M, Martel-Pelletier J, Massicotte F, Tardif G, Pelletier JP, Ranger P, Lajeunesse D, Reboul P (2003) Human adult chondrocytes express hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) isoforms but not HgF: potential implication of osteoblasts on the presence of HGF in cartilage. J Bone Miner Res 18:1073–1081
Lyons TJ, McClure SF, Stoddart RW, McClure J (2006) The normal human chondro-osseous junctional region: evidence for contact of uncalcified cartilage with subchondral bone and marrow spaces. BMC Musculoskelet Disord 7:52
Malinin T, Ouellette EA (2000) Articular cartilage nutrition is mediated by subchondral bone: a long-term autograft study in baboons. Osteoarthr Cartil 8:483–491
Lane LB, Villacin A, Bullough PG (1977) The vascularity and remodelling of subchondrial bone and calcified cartilage in adult human femoral and humeral heads. An age- and stress-related phenomenon. J Bone Joint Surg Br 59:272–278
Walsh DA, Bonnet CS, Turner EL, Wilson D, Situ M, McWilliams DF (2007) Angiogenesis in the synovium and at the osteochondral junction in osteoarthritis. Osteoarthr Cartil 15:743–751
Shibakawa A, Yudoh K, Masuko-Hongo K, Kato T, Nishioka K, Nakamura H (2005) The role of subchondral bone resorption pits in osteoarthritis: MMP production by cells derived from bone marrow. Osteoarthr Cartil 13:679–687
Suri S, Gill SE, Massena de Camin S, Wilson D, McWilliams DF, Walsh DA (2007) Neurovascular invasion at the osteochondral junction and in osteophytes in osteoarthritis. Ann Rheum Dis 66:1423–1428
Kamekura S, Kawasaki Y, Hoshi K, Shimoaka T, Chikuda H, Maruyama Z, Komori T, Sato S, Takeda S, Karsenty G, Nakamura K, Chung UI, Kawaguchi H (2006) Contribution of runt-related transcription factor 2 to the pathogenesis of osteoarthritis in mice after induction of knee joint instability. Arthritis Rheum 54:2462–2470
Acknowledgments
Dr. M. Majhoub was supported by an Articulum Fellowship grant. These studies were supported by the Société Française de Rhumatologie and Arthritis Fondation Courtin.
Conflicts of interest
FB has received an honorarium for participating in a workshop sponsored by Servier.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Mahjoub, M., Berenbaum, F. & Houard, X. Why subchondral bone in osteoarthritis? The importance of the cartilage bone interface in osteoarthritis. Osteoporos Int 23 (Suppl 8), 841–846 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00198-012-2161-0
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00198-012-2161-0