Indian hedgehog in synovial fluid is a novel marker for early cartilage lesions in human knee joint.
To determine whether there is a correlation between the concentration of Indian hedgehog (Ihh) in synovial fluid (SF) and the severity of cartilage damage in the human knee joints, the knee cartilages from patients were classified using the Outer-bridge scoring system and graded using the Modified Mankin score. Expression of Ihh in cartilage and SF samples were analyzed with immunohistochemistry (IHC), western blot, and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Furthermore, we detected and compared Ihh protein levels in rat and mice cartilages between normal control and surgery-induced osteoarthritis (OA) group by IHC and fluorescence molecular tomography in vivo respectively. Ihh expression was increased 5.2-fold in OA cartilage, 3.1-fold in relative normal OA cartilage, and 1.71-fold in OA SF compared to normal control samples. The concentrations of Ihh in cartilage and SF samples was significantly increased in early-stage OA samples when compared to normal samples (r = 0.556; p < 0.001); however, there were no significant differences between normal samples and late-stage OA samples. Up-regulation of Ihh protein was also an early event in the surgery-induced OA models. Increased Ihh is associated with the severity of OA cartilage damage. Elevated Ihh content in human knee joint synovial fluid correlates with early cartilage lesions.
Department of Orthopaedics, the Second Hospital of Shanxi Medical University, Shanxi Key Lab of Bone and Soft Tissue Injury Repair, Taiyuan 030001, China. zang.cong.ming@163.com.
Congming
C
Zhang
Department of Orthopaedics, the Second Hospital of Shanxi Medical University, Shanxi Key Lab of Bone and Soft Tissue Injury Repair, Taiyuan 030001, China. weixiaochun11@126.com.
Xiaochun
X
Wei
Department of Orthopaedics, the Second Hospital of Shanxi Medical University, Shanxi Key Lab of Bone and Soft Tissue Injury Repair, Taiyuan 030001, China. chenchongwei.ty@163.com.
Chongwei
C
Chen
Department of Orthopaedics, the Second Hospital of Shanxi Medical University, Shanxi Key Lab of Bone and Soft Tissue Injury Repair, Taiyuan 030001, China. caokun922@hotmail.com.
Kun
K
Cao
Department of Orthopaedics, the Second Hospital of Shanxi Medical University, Shanxi Key Lab of Bone and Soft Tissue Injury Repair, Taiyuan 030001, China. liyp328@126.com.
Yongping
Y
Li
Department of Orthopaedics, the Second Hospital of Shanxi Medical University, Shanxi Key Lab of Bone and Soft Tissue Injury Repair, Taiyuan 030001, China. jq1979@163.com.
Qiang
Q
Jiao
Department of Orthopaedics, the Second Hospital of Shanxi Medical University, Shanxi Key Lab of Bone and Soft Tissue Injury Repair, Taiyuan 030001, China. dd8052@163.com.
Juan
J
Ding
Department of Orthopaedics, Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, CORO West, Suite 402A, 1 Hoppin Street, Providence, RI 02903, USA. jingmingzhou@gmail.com.
Jingming
J
Zhou
Department of Orthopaedics, Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, CORO West, Suite 402A, 1 Hoppin Street, Providence, RI 02903, USA. braden_fleming@brown.edu.
Braden C
BC
Fleming
Department of Orthopaedics, Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, CORO West, Suite 402A, 1 Hoppin Street, Providence, RI 02903, USA. qian_chen@brown.edu.
Qian
Q
Chen
Department of Orthopaedics, Guiyang Medical University, No. 9 Beijing Road, Guiyang 550004, China. shangxianwen@medmail.com.cn.
Xianwen
X
Shang
Department of Orthopaedics, the Second Hospital of Shanxi Medical University, Shanxi Key Lab of Bone and Soft Tissue Injury Repair, Taiyuan 030001, China. lei_wei@brown.edu.
Lei
L
Wei
D000328:Adult; D000818:Animals; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000032:analysis; D015153:Blotting, Western; D002358:Cartilage, Articular / Q000473:pathology*; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D053823:Hedgehog Proteins / Q000032:analysis*; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D007719:Knee Joint / Q000473:pathology*; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D008875:Middle Aged; D010003:Osteoarthritis / Q000473:pathology*; D051381:Rats; D013582:Synovial Fluid / Q000737:chemistry*
D015415:Biomarkers; D053823:Hedgehog Proteins; C509246:IHH protein, human; C550919:Ihh protein, rat; C514061:ihh protein, mouse