Mode of Injury and Level of Synovitis Alter Inflammatory Chondrocyte Gene Expression and Associated Pathways

Although various joint injuries result in post-traumatic osteoarthritis (PTOA), differences in chondrocyte response to specific injuries, such as blunt compression or fracture, are unclear. Furthermore, the role of underlying joint inflammation, or synovitis, is often not considered. We investigated how injury mechanisms and underlying synovitis affect chondrocyte gene expression using osteochondral injury models with synovial co-culture. We hypothesized that the state of synovitis as well as the mechanism of biomechanical cartilage injury differentially alter the gene expression of chondrocytes and that these responses are regulated by the pro-inflammatory cytokine interleukin 1 (IL-1). The mechanism of injury and level of synovial inflammation both significantly regulated chondrocyte gene expression and associated pathways, uncovering distinct characteristics of fracture and compression injury mechanisms. Targeting IL-1 following injury reduced the inflammatory response and could have clinical implications. The results from this study show that crosstalk between biomechanics and inflammation in the context of synovitis and cartilage injury mechanism is an important consideration for PTOA.