Objective To test the hypothesis that high-fat (HF) diet-induced obesity increases pro-inflammatory cytokine expression, macrophage infiltration and M1 polarization in the infrapatellar fat pad (IFP) prior to knee cartilage degeneration. Methods We characterized the effect of HF feeding on knee OA pathology, body adiposity, and glucose intolerance in male C57BL/6J mice and identified a diet duration that induces metabolic dysfunction prior to cartilage degeneration. Magnetic resonance imaging and histomorphology were used to quantify changes in epididymal, subcutaneous, and infrapatellar fat pads and adipocyte sizes. Finally, we utilized targeted gene expression and protein arrays, immunohistochemsitry, and flow cytometry to quantify differences in fat pad inflammatory markers and immune cell populations. Results 20 weeks of HF diet treatment induced marked obesity, glucose intolerance, and early osteoarthritis (OA), including osteophytes and cartilage tidemark duplication. This duration of HF feeding increased IFP volume. However, it did not increase IFP inflammation, macrophage infiltration, or M1 macrophage polarization as observed in epididymal fat. Furthermore, leptin protein was reduced. This protection from obesity-induced inflammation corresponded with increased IFP fibrosis and the absence of adipocyte hypertrophy. Conclusion The IFP does not recapitulate classical abdominal adipose tissue inflammation during the early stages of knee OA in a high-fat diet-induced model of obesity. Consequently, these findings do not support the hypothesis that IFP inflammation is an initiating factor of obesity-induced knee OA. Furthermore, the pro-fibrotic and anti-hypertrophic responses of IFP adipocytes to high-fat feeding suggest that intra-articular adipocytes are subject to distinct spatial-temporal structural and metabolic regulation among fat pads.

Background Excess reactive oxygen species (ROS) and muscle weakness occur in parallel in multiple pathological conditions. However, the causative role of skeletal muscle mitochondrial ROS (mtROS) on neuromuscular junction (NMJ) morphology and function and muscle weakness has not been directly investigated. Methods We generated mice lacking skeletal muscle‐specific manganese‐superoxide dismutase (m Sod2 KO) to increase mtROS using a cre‐Lox approach driven by human skeletal actin. We determined primary functional parameters of skeletal muscle mitochondrial function (respiration, ROS, and calcium retention capacity) using permeabilized muscle fibres and isolated muscle mitochondria. We assessed contractile properties of isolated skeletal muscle using in situ and in vitro preparations and whole lumbrical muscles to elucidate the mechanisms of contractile dysfunction. Results The m Sod2 KO mice, contrary to our prediction, exhibit a 10–15% increase in muscle mass associated with an ~50% increase in central nuclei and ~35% increase in branched fibres ( P < 0.05). Despite the increase in muscle mass of gastrocnemius and quadriceps, in situ sciatic nerve‐stimulated isometric maximum‐specific force ( N /cm 2 ), force per cross‐sectional area, is impaired by ~60% and associated with increased NMJ fragmentation and size by ~40% ( P < 0.05). Intrinsic alterations of components of the contractile machinery show elevated markers of oxidative stress, for example, lipid peroxidation is increased by ~100%, oxidized glutathione is elevated by ~50%, and oxidative modifications of myofibrillar proteins are increased by ~30% ( P < 0.05). We also find an approximate 20% decrease in the intracellular calcium transient that is associated with specific force deficit. Excess superoxide generation from the mitochondrial complexes causes a deficiency of succinate dehydrogenase and reduced complex‐II‐mediated respiration and adenosine triphosphate generation rates leading to severe exercise intolerance (~10 min vs. ~2 h in wild type, P < 0.05). Conclusions Increased skeletal muscle mtROS is sufficient to elicit NMJ disruption and contractile abnormalities, but not muscle atrophy, suggesting new roles for mitochondrial oxidative stress in maintenance of muscle mass through increased fibre branching.

Streptococcal throat infection is associated with a specific variant of psoriasis and with HLA-Cw6 expression. In this study, activation of circulating psoriatic cutaneous lymphocyte-associated antigen (CLA)(+) memory T cells cultured together with epidermal cells occurred only when streptococcal throat extracts were added. This triggered the production of Th1, Th17, and Th22 cytokines, as well as epidermal cell mediators (CXCL8, CXCL9, CXCL10, and CXCL11). Streptococcal extracts (SEs) did not induce any activation with either CLA(-) cells or memory T cells cultured together with epidermal cells from healthy subjects. Intradermal injection of activated culture supernatants into mouse skin induced epidermal hyperplasia. SEs also induced activation when we used epidermal cells from nonlesional skin of psoriatic patients with CLA(+) memory T cells. Significant correlations were found between SE induced upregulation of mRNA expression for ifn-γ, il-17, il-22, ip-10, and serum level of antistreptolysin O in psoriatic patients. This study demonstrates the direct involvement of streptococcal infection in pathological mechanisms of psoriasis, such as IL-17 production and epidermal cell activation.

1). At the end of the experiment, aggrecan was 1.55-fold up-regulated while MMP-2 was 2.38-fold down-regulated (P < 0.05) (Fig. 1A). The histological appearance of the chondrocytes also showed load-dependency, with more hypercellularity and hypertrophy in the running group (Fig. 1B). FIB3-2 as a plasma biomarker, interacts with the tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase 3 (TIMP-3) and the elevated amount of FIB3-2 is expected in osteoarthritis samples. FIB3-2 is also known to be cleaved by several MMPs family including MMP-2. FIB3-2 levels dropped in the running group (from 52.7 ± 13.2 nM to 30.2 ± 8.4 nM) as compared to the control group (45.3 ± 15.0 nM to 33.3 ± 9.7 nM) (Fig. 1C). MicroCT analysis revealed an enhancement in bone response as a result of early moderate physical training where epiphysis bone parameters in the running group including thickness and bone volume fraction of subchondral bone tibia plateau as well as trabecular bone mass significantly increased compared with control animals (Fig. 2). Conclusions: Gradual increase of running up to a moderate level to 1120 m/h for one hour enhances aggrecan expression, reduces catabolic enzymatic activity of MMP-2 as well as increases subchondral bone thickness in the epiphysis area and leads to hypercellularity and hypertrophy of the chondrocytes. Conclusively, a moderate exercise program can significantly influence both bone remodeling and cartilage tissue adaptation.

aggrecan) and catabolic genes (MMP3 and MMP13) were assessed by RT-PCR. Generation of nitric oxide (NO) and release of MMP3 and MMP13 were determined from the conditioned media by Griess reaction and ELISA analysis, respectively. Phosphorylation and expression of ACLY, and AMP-activated protein kinase alpha (p-Thr172, indicating activity of metabolic energy sensor AMPK), acetyl-CoA carboxylase which is a key enzyme in fatty acid synthesis (p-Ser79, indicating inhibition of activity), p65 NF-kB (p-Ser536, indicating NF-kB activation), mTOR and LC3B (involved in autophagy) were examined by Western blot analysis. Total acetylated histone H3 (Ac-H3), or specific Ac-H3K9 and Ac-H3K27 (both indicating transcriptional activation) were also assessed. Results: Glucose starvation of chondrocytes for 5 hours led to drastic loss of cytosolic acetyl-CoA, phosphorylation and expression of ACLY and histone H3 acetylation (total Ac-H3, as well as Ac-H3K9, Ac-H3K27), correlated with increased phosphorylation of AMPKa. This effect was reversed soon after re-feeding the cells with glucose, but only when ACLY was present. These results suggest that glucose availability in chondrocytes influenced histone acetylation in an ACLY-dependent manner. Primary human knee OA chondrocytes or cultured human knee chondrocytes (passage 1) treated with IL-1b exhibited increased phosphorylation of ACLY, correlated with increased levels of Ac-H3K9 and Ac-H3K27 and decreased phosphorylation of AMPKa. Treatment of chondrocytes with ACLY inhibitor HC resulted in increased basal levels of mRNA expression of SOX9, Col2a and aggrecan. In addition, HC inhibited IL-1b-induced increased phosphorylation of ACLY and p65 NF