Objective. We have previously identified in articular cartilage an abundant pool of the heparin-binding growth factor, fibroblast growth factor 2 (FGF-2), which is bound to the pericellular matrix heparan sulfate proteoglycan, perlecan. This pool of FGF-2 activates chondrocytes upon tissue loading and is released following mechanical injury. In vitro, FGF-2 suppresses interleukin-1-driven aggrecanase activity in human cartilage explants, suggesting a chondroprotective role in vivo. We undertook this study to investigate the in vivo role of FGF-2 in murine cartilage.Methods. Basal characteristics of the articular cartilage of Fgf2 -/-and Fgf2 ؉/؉ mice were determined by histomorphometry, nanoindentation, and quantitative reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction. The articular cartilage was graded histologically in aged mice as well as in mice in which osteoarthritis (OA) had been induced by surgical destabilization of the medial meniscus. RNA was extracted from the joints of Fgf2 -/-and Fgf2 ؉/؉ mice following surgery and quantitatively assessed for key regulatory molecules. The effect of subcutaneous administration of recombinant FGF-2 on OA progression was assessed in Fgf2 -/-mice.Results. Fgf2 -/-mice were morphologically indistinguishable from wild-type (WT) animals up to age 12 weeks; the cartilage thickness and proteoglycan staining were equivalent, as was the mechanical integrity of the matrix. However, Fgf2 -/-mice exhibited accelerated spontaneous and surgically induced OA. Surgically induced OA in Fgf2 -/-mice was suppressed to levels in WT mice by subcutaneous administration of recombinant FGF-2. Increased disease in Fgf2 -/-mice was associated with increased expression of messenger RNA of Adamts5, the key murine aggrecanase. Conclusion. These data identify FGF-2 as a novel endogenous chondroprotective agent in articular cartilage.The structural integrity of articular cartilage is determined principally by homeostasis of the 2 major macromolecules of the extracellular matrix, type II collagen and the chondroitin sulfate-rich proteoglycan aggrecan. In healthy tissue, there is a balance between anabolic (synthetic) and catabolic (degradative) processes that allows matrix turnover. Excessive catabolic activity results in matrix breakdown, a hallmark of osteoarthritis (OA). One key early event in matrix breakdown is loss of aggrecan, which is caused by aggrecanase enzymes, members of the ADAMTS family. In humans, ADAMTS-4 and ADAMTS-5 are thought to be the major aggrecanases in cartilage (1,2). In the mouse, deletion of ADAMTS-5, but not ADAMTS-4, was shown to protect against the development of OA and inflammatory arthritis, suggesting that ADAMTS-5 is the main murine aggrecanase (3,4).We have identified fibroblast growth factor 2 (FGF-2) as a potential regulatory molecule in articular cartilage. It is bound to the heparan sulfate chains of the proteoglycan perlecan in the pericellular matrix of hu-

Loading-induced ERK activation was dependent upon the presence and concentration of pericellular FGF-2, suggesting a functional role for this matrix-bound growth factor in chondrocyte mechanotransduction.

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ObjectivesOne mechanism by which cartilage responds to mechanical load is by releasing heparin-bound growth factors from the pericellular matrix (PCM). By proteomic analysis of the PCM, we identified connective tissue growth factor (CTGF) and here investigate its function and mechanism of action.MethodsRecombinant CTGF (rCTGF) was used to stimulate human chondrocytes for microarray analysis. Endogenous CTGF was investigated by in vitro binding assays and confocal microscopy. Its release from cut cartilage (injury CM) was analysed by Western blot under reducing and non-reducing conditions. A postnatal, conditional CtgfcKO mouse was generated for cartilage injury experiments and to explore the course of osteoarthritis (OA) by destabilisation of the medial meniscus. siRNA knockdown was performed on isolated human chondrocytes.ResultsThe biological responses of rCTGF were TGFβ dependent. CTGF displaced latent TGFβ from cartilage and both were released on cartilage injury. CTGF and latent TGFβ migrated as a single high molecular weight band under non-reducing conditions, suggesting that they were in a covalent (disulfide) complex. This was confirmed by immunoprecipitation. Using CtgfcKO mice, CTGF was required for sequestration of latent TGFβ in the matrix and activation of the latent complex at the cell surface through TGFβR3. In vivo deletion of CTGF increased the thickness of the articular cartilage and protected mice from OA.ConclusionsCTGF is a latent TGFβ binding protein that controls the matrix sequestration and activation of TGFβ in cartilage. Deletion of CTGF in vivo caused a paradoxical increase in Smad2 phosphorylation resulting in thicker cartilage that was protected from OA.

Articular cartilage is a dense extracellular matrix-rich tissue that degrades following chronic mechanical stress, resulting in osteoarthritis (OA). The tissue has low intrinsic repair especially in aged and osteoarthritic joints. Here we describe three pro-regenerative factors; fibroblast growth factor 2 (FGF2), connective tissue growth factor, bound to transforming growth factor-beta (CTGF-TGFβ), and hepatoma-derived growth factor (HDGF), that are rapidly released from the pericellular matrix (PCM) of articular cartilage upon mechanical injury. All three growth factors bound heparan sulfate, and were displaced by exogenous NaCl. We hypothesised that sodium, sequestered within the aggrecan-rich matrix, was freed by injurious compression, thereby enhancing the bioavailability of pericellular growth factors. Indeed, growth factor release was abrogated when cartilage aggrecan was depleted by IL-1 treatment, and in severely damaged human osteoarthritic cartilage. A flux in free matrix sodium upon mechanical compression of cartilage was visualised by 23Na magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) just below the articular surface. This corresponded to a region of reduced tissue stiffness, measured by scanning acoustic microscopy and second harmonic generation microscopy, and where Smad2/3 was phosphorylated upon cyclic compression. Our results describe a novel intrinsic repair mechanism, controlled by matrix stiffness and mediated by the free sodium concentration, in which heparan sulfate-bound growth factors are released from cartilage upon injurious load. They identify aggrecan as a depot for sequestered sodium, explaining why osteoarthritic tissue loses its ability to repair. Treatments that restore matrix sodium to allow appropriate release of growth factors upon load are predicted to enable intrinsic cartilage repair in osteoarthritis. Significance Statement Osteoarthritis is the most prevalent musculoskeletal disease, affecting 250 million people worldwide1. We identify a novel intrinsic repair response in cartilage, mediated by aggrecan-dependent sodium flux, and dependent upon matrix stiffness, which results in the release of a cocktail of pro-regenerative growth factors after injury. Loss of aggrecan in late-stage osteoarthritis prevents growth factor release and likely contributes to disease progression. Treatments that restore matrix sodium in osteoarthritis may recover the intrinsic repair response to improve disease outcome.