Altered trabecular bone structure and delayed cartilage degeneration in the knees of collagen VI null mice.
Abstract
Mutation or loss of collagen VI has been linked to a variety of musculoskeletal abnormalities,
particularly muscular dystrophies, tissue ossification and/or fibrosis, and hip osteoarthritis.
However, the role of collagen VI in bone and cartilage structure and function in the
knee is unknown. In this study, we examined the role of collagen VI in the morphology
and physical properties of bone and cartilage in the knee joint of Col6a1(-/-) mice
by micro-computed tomography (microCT), histology, atomic force microscopy (AFM),
and scanning microphotolysis (SCAMP). Col6a1(-/-) mice showed significant differences
in trabecular bone structure, with lower bone volume, connectivity density, trabecular
number, and trabecular thickness but higher structure model index and trabecular separation
compared to Col6a1(+/+) mice. Subchondral bone thickness and mineral content increased
significantly with age in Col6a1(+/+) mice, but not in Col6a1(-/-) mice. Col6a1(-/-)
mice had lower cartilage degradation scores, but developed early, severe osteophytes
compared to Col6a1(+/+) mice. In both groups, cartilage roughness increased with age,
but neither the frictional coefficient nor compressive modulus of the cartilage changed
with age or genotype, as measured by AFM. Cartilage diffusivity, measured via SCAMP,
varied minimally with age or genotype. The absence of type VI collagen has profound
effects on knee joint structure and morphometry, yet minimal influences on the physical
properties of the cartilage. Together with previous studies showing accelerated hip
osteoarthritis in Col6a1(-/-) mice, these findings suggest different roles for collagen
VI at different sites in the body, consistent with clinical data.
Type
Journal articleSubject
AnimalsBone Density
Cartilage, Articular
Collagen Type VI
Elasticity
Female
Immunoenzyme Techniques
Knee Joint
Male
Mice
Mice, Knockout
Microscopy, Atomic Force
Microscopy, Electron, Scanning
Osteoarthritis
X-Ray Microtomography
Permalink
https://hdl.handle.net/10161/15320Published Version (Please cite this version)
10.1371/journal.pone.0033397Publication Info
Christensen, Susan E; Coles, Jeffrey M; Zelenski, Nicole A; Furman, Bridgette D; Leddy,
Holly A; Zauscher, Stefan; ... Guilak, Farshid (2012). Altered trabecular bone structure and delayed cartilage degeneration in the knees
of collagen VI null mice. PLoS One, 7(3). pp. e33397. 10.1371/journal.pone.0033397. Retrieved from https://hdl.handle.net/10161/15320.This is constructed from limited available data and may be imprecise. To cite this
article, please review & use the official citation provided by the journal.
Collections
More Info
Show full item recordScholars@Duke
Farshid Guilak
Lazlo Ormandy Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery
This author no longer has a Scholars@Duke profile, so the information shown here reflects
their Duke status at the time this item was deposited.
Holly Leddy
Research & Dev Engineer III
Stefan Zauscher
Professor in the Thomas Lord Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science
My research lies at the intersection of surface and colloid science, polymer materials
engineering, and biointerface science, with four central areas of focus:
1. Fabrication, manipulation and characterization of stimulus-responsive biomolecular
and bio-inspired polymeric nanostructures on surfaces;
2. Nanotechnology of soft-wet materials and hybrid biological/non-biological microdevices;
3. Receptor-ligand interactions relevant to the diagnostics of infectious diseases;
4. Friction
Alphabetical list of authors with Scholars@Duke profiles.

Articles written by Duke faculty are made available through the campus open access policy. For more information see: Duke Open Access Policy
Rights for Collection: Scholarly Articles
Works are deposited here by their authors, and represent their research and opinions, not that of Duke University. Some materials and descriptions may include offensive content. More info