These tools will no longer be maintained as of December 31, 2024. Archived website can be found here. PubMed4Hh GitHub repository can be found here. Contact NLM Customer Service if you have questions.


Pubmed for Handhelds

PUBMED FOR HANDHELDS

Search MEDLINE/PubMed

  • Title: Biochemical composition of the superficial layer of articular cartilage.
    Author: Crockett R, Grubelnik A, Roos S, Dora C, Born W, Troxler H.
    Journal: J Biomed Mater Res A; 2007 Sep 15; 82(4):958-64. PubMed ID: 17335032.
    Abstract:
    To gain more information on the mechanism of lubrication in articular joints, the superficial layer of bovine articular cartilage was mechanically removed in a sheet of ice that formed on freezing the cartilage. Freeze-dried samples contained low concentrations of chondroitin sulphate and protein. Analysis of the protein by SDS PAGE showed that the composition of the sample was comparable to that of synovial fluid (SF). Attenuated total reflection infrared (ATR-IR) spectroscopy of the dried residue indicated that the sample contained mostly hyaluronan. Moreover, ATR-IR spectroscopy of the upper layer of the superficial layer, adsorbed onto silicon, showed the presence of phospholipids. A gel could be formed by mixing hyaluronan and phosphatidylcholine in water with mechanical properties similar to those of the superficial layer on cartilage. Much like the superficial layer of natural cartilage, the surface of this gel became hydrophobic on drying out. Thus, it is proposed that the superficial layer forms from hyaluronan and phospholipids, which associate by hydrophobic interactions between the alkyl chains of the phospholipids and the hydrophobic faces of the disaccharide units in hyaluronan. This layer is permeable to material from the SF and the cartilage, as shown by the presence of SF proteins and chondroitin sulphate. As the cartilage dries out after removal from the joint, the phospholipids migrate towards the surface of the superficial layer to reduce the surface tension. It is also proposed that the highly efficient lubrication in articular joints can, at least in part, be attributed to the ability of the superficial layer to adsorb and hold water on the cartilage surface, thus creating a highly viscous boundary protection.
    [Abstract] [Full Text] [Related] [New Search]