Effects of stimulated aggrecanolysis on nanoscale morphological and mechanical properties of wild-type and aggrecanase-resistant mutant mice cartilages

Abstract

Abstract.: A key event in arthritis pathogenesis is the degradation of aggrecan, the major component in articular cartilage. In this work, we investigate the effects of stimulated aggrecanolysis on the morphological and nanomechanical properties of cartilage harvested from wild-type mice and aggrecanase-resistant mutant mice named “Jaffa”. The cartilages were native or were subjected to stimulated aggrecanolysis by interleukin-1α (IL-1α) treatment. The nanoscale morphological and mechanical properties of the sectioned cartilages were measured by using a sharp probe by atomic force microscopy (AFM). The IL-1α treatment resulted in a higher nanoroughess and stiffness of the cartilage from wild..