Musculoskeletal Biology
A 45-year-old man with knee pain undergoes arthroscopy showing Grade II cartilage changes on the medial femoral condyle. You are discussing the pathophysiology with a trainee. They ask about the normal composition of articular cartilage and the role of proteoglycans. Regarding proteoglycans in articular cartilage:
Mark each as TRUE or FALSE
Proteoglycans consist of a core protein with covalently attached glycosaminoglycan (GAG) chains; the...
Aggrecan monomers bind to hyaluronic acid via link protein to form large aggregates; these aggregate...
Proteoglycans provide tensile strength to cartilage; they have minimal role in water retention; aggr...
In osteoarthritis, aggrecan is degraded by aggrecanases (ADAMTS-4 and ADAMTS-5) and MMPs; this leads...
Other proteoglycans in cartilage include decorin, biglycan, and fibromodulin which are small leucine...
Answer the questions to see explanations
Click T (True) or F (False) for each option