Osteoarthritis, one of the main causes of long-term pain and disability, typically affects the knee, hip joints, fingers, and back.
However, researchers currently lack detailed knowledge about the early stages of the disease.
“Right now, we don’t understand the tiny, molecular changes and structural changes that happen at the start of osteoarthritis,” explains Professor Martin Englund from Lund University.
By understanding these early processes, Englund believes they could find new ways to diagnose and treat osteoarthritis before it causes severe damage to the joint.
Creating a Biobank
For almost five years, researchers in Lund have been creating a biobank by collecting knee tissue from over 700 people.
The biobank contains knee cartilage, menisci, blood, and synovial fluid. This is the first of its kind in Sweden and it provides a unique resource for research.
Englund and his colleagues are analyzing the proteins in the samples to understand the breakdown of tissue that happens in osteoarthritis.
They are looking at thousands of proteins in different quantities and their patterns to understand how osteoarthritis disrupts the balance between tissue building and breaking down processes.
Seeing Inside the Tissue
To study the structure of the tissue, the researchers are using a technique called synchrotron radiation imaging.
This involves using a light that’s about one hundred billion times more intense than the X-rays used in hospitals. The powerful light lets them look at large volumes of tissue in 3D at the cellular level.
“We can create 3D images in seconds and see soft tissue that’s usually invisible,” says Professor Hanna Isaksson from the Faculty of Engineering.
The researchers can see the cells in the cartilage and the collagen in the meniscus.
They have noticed that the collagen in the meniscus curls up to different extents, changing its biomedical properties, but it’s not clear yet if this is related to osteoarthritis or how the breakdown starts.
Analyzing Large Amounts of Data
Each imaging experiment produces huge amounts of data, often many terabytes. To process this, the researchers use programming to automate the analysis.
So far, the team has analyzed 40 tissue samples, much more than other studies using this imaging technique. They aim to have results ready within five years.
“No one has published results from similar experiments aimed at visualizing how human cartilage tissues behave under load and how osteoarthritis affects this behavior.
We are unique in studying meniscus and cartilage tissue across a large age range and a variety of both sick and healthy tissues, thanks to our biobank,” concludes Englund.
If you care about pain, please read studies about why long COVID can cause pain, and common Native American plants may help reduce diarrhea and pain.
For more information about pain, please see recent studies about why people with red hair respond differently to pain than others, and results showing this drug may relieve painful ‘long covid’ symptoms.
Follow us on Twitter for more articles about this topic.
Copyright © 2023 Knowridge Science Report. All rights reserved.
