Skip to main content

Lund University Publications

LUND UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES

Synovial fluid level of aggrecan ARGS fragments is a more sensitive marker of joint disease than glycosaminoglycan or aggrecan levels: a cross-sectional study

Larsson, Staffan LU orcid ; Lohmander, Stefan LU orcid and Struglics, André LU (2009) In Arthritis Research and Therapy 11(3).
Abstract
Introduction Aggrecanase cleavage at the (392)Glu-(393)Ala bond in the interglobular domain (IGD) of aggrecan, releasing N-terminal (393)ARGS fragments, is an early key event in arthritis and joint injuries. Here, we use a quantitative immunoassay of aggrecan ARGS neoepitope fragments in human synovial fluid to determine if this cleavage-site specific method better identifies joint pathology than previously available less specific aggrecan assays. Methods Synovial fluid (SF) from 26 people with healthy knees (reference) and 269 patients were analyzed in a cross-sectional study. Patient groups were acute inflammatory arthritis, acute knee injury, chronic knee injury and knee osteoarthritis (OA). Aggrecan ARGS fragments were assayed by ELISA... (More)
Introduction Aggrecanase cleavage at the (392)Glu-(393)Ala bond in the interglobular domain (IGD) of aggrecan, releasing N-terminal (393)ARGS fragments, is an early key event in arthritis and joint injuries. Here, we use a quantitative immunoassay of aggrecan ARGS neoepitope fragments in human synovial fluid to determine if this cleavage-site specific method better identifies joint pathology than previously available less specific aggrecan assays. Methods Synovial fluid (SF) from 26 people with healthy knees (reference) and 269 patients were analyzed in a cross-sectional study. Patient groups were acute inflammatory arthritis, acute knee injury, chronic knee injury and knee osteoarthritis (OA). Aggrecan ARGS fragments were assayed by ELISA using the monoclonal antibody OA-1. Total aggrecan content was analyzed by an ELISA using the monoclonal antibody 1-F21, and sulfated glycosaminoglycan by Alcian blue precipitation. Results Aggrecan ARGS fragment concentrations in all groups differed from the reference group (P < 0.001). The acute inflammatory arthritis group had the highest median level, 177-fold greater than that of the reference group. Median levels (in pmol ARGS/ml SF) were: reference 0.5, acute inflammatory arthritis 88.5, acute knee injury 53.9, chronic knee injury 0.5 and OA 4.6. In contrast, aggrecan and sulfated glycosaminoglycan concentrations varied much less between groups, and only acute inflammatory arthritis and acute knee injury were found to have a two-fold increase in median levels compared to the reference. Conclusions Levels of aggrecan ARGS fragments in human synovial fluid are increased in human arthritis, OA and after knee injury, likely reflecting an enhanced cleavage at the (392)Glu-(393)Ala bond in the IGD by aggrecanase. An assay that specifically quantified these fragments better distinguished samples from joints with pathology than assays monitoring aggrecan or glycosaminoglycan concentrations. The newly developed ARGS fragment assay can be used to monitor aggrecanase activity in human joint disease and experimental models. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
in
Arthritis Research and Therapy
volume
11
issue
3
publisher
BioMed Central (BMC)
external identifiers
  • wos:000269019300058
  • scopus:67650672174
  • pmid:19545413
ISSN
1478-6362
DOI
10.1186/ar2735
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
9cae2516-5d78-4f4e-81cd-926f29df22af (old id 1477456)
date added to LUP
2016-04-01 11:40:11
date last changed
2024-01-07 16:00:44
@article{9cae2516-5d78-4f4e-81cd-926f29df22af,
  abstract     = {{Introduction Aggrecanase cleavage at the (392)Glu-(393)Ala bond in the interglobular domain (IGD) of aggrecan, releasing N-terminal (393)ARGS fragments, is an early key event in arthritis and joint injuries. Here, we use a quantitative immunoassay of aggrecan ARGS neoepitope fragments in human synovial fluid to determine if this cleavage-site specific method better identifies joint pathology than previously available less specific aggrecan assays. Methods Synovial fluid (SF) from 26 people with healthy knees (reference) and 269 patients were analyzed in a cross-sectional study. Patient groups were acute inflammatory arthritis, acute knee injury, chronic knee injury and knee osteoarthritis (OA). Aggrecan ARGS fragments were assayed by ELISA using the monoclonal antibody OA-1. Total aggrecan content was analyzed by an ELISA using the monoclonal antibody 1-F21, and sulfated glycosaminoglycan by Alcian blue precipitation. Results Aggrecan ARGS fragment concentrations in all groups differed from the reference group (P &lt; 0.001). The acute inflammatory arthritis group had the highest median level, 177-fold greater than that of the reference group. Median levels (in pmol ARGS/ml SF) were: reference 0.5, acute inflammatory arthritis 88.5, acute knee injury 53.9, chronic knee injury 0.5 and OA 4.6. In contrast, aggrecan and sulfated glycosaminoglycan concentrations varied much less between groups, and only acute inflammatory arthritis and acute knee injury were found to have a two-fold increase in median levels compared to the reference. Conclusions Levels of aggrecan ARGS fragments in human synovial fluid are increased in human arthritis, OA and after knee injury, likely reflecting an enhanced cleavage at the (392)Glu-(393)Ala bond in the IGD by aggrecanase. An assay that specifically quantified these fragments better distinguished samples from joints with pathology than assays monitoring aggrecan or glycosaminoglycan concentrations. The newly developed ARGS fragment assay can be used to monitor aggrecanase activity in human joint disease and experimental models.}},
  author       = {{Larsson, Staffan and Lohmander, Stefan and Struglics, André}},
  issn         = {{1478-6362}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{3}},
  publisher    = {{BioMed Central (BMC)}},
  series       = {{Arthritis Research and Therapy}},
  title        = {{Synovial fluid level of aggrecan ARGS fragments is a more sensitive marker of joint disease than glycosaminoglycan or aggrecan levels: a cross-sectional study}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/ar2735}},
  doi          = {{10.1186/ar2735}},
  volume       = {{11}},
  year         = {{2009}},
}