Risa Uyama

Effects of antibody to receptor activator of nuclear factor κ-B ligand on inflammation and cartilage degradation in collagen antibody-induced arthritis in mice

BackgroundRheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an inflammatory disease that leads to destruction of both articular cartilage and bone tissues. In rheumatic joints, synoviocytes and T-lymphocytes as well as bone cells produce the receptor activator of nuclear factor κ-B (RANK) ligand (RANKL), which binds to RANK on the surface of osteoclasts and their precursor cells to induce differentiation and activation of osteoclasts. Hence, inhibition of RANKL may be a promising approach to suppress osteolysis in RA. On the other hand, RANKL production by lymphocytes indicates the possibility that its inhibition would be effective to suppress inflammation in RA. In addition, it has been reported that cathepsin K, a predominant cysteine protease in osteoclasts, is involved in cartilage destruction in RA model mice. Here, we evaluated the effects of an anti-RANKL antibody on inflammation in footpads and degradation of articular cartilage in RA model mice.ResultsWe induced arthritis in mice by injection of anti-type II collagen antibodies and lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Inhibition of RANKL by an anti-RANKL antibody (OYC1, Oriental Yeast, Tokyo, Japan) was confirmed by increased bone volume in the metaphysis of tibias. Swelling in either limb until day 14 was seen in 5 of 6 mice injected with anti-collagen antibodies and LPS without treatment with OYC1, while that was seen in 4 of 5 mice treated with OYC1. The average arthritis scores on day 14 in those groups were 2.17 and 3.00, respectively, indicating that OYC1 did not ameliorate inflammation in the limbs. Histological analyses indicated that OYC1 does not protect articular cartilage from destruction in mice with arthritis.ConclusionsOur present study failed to show the effectiveness of an anti-RANKL antibody to ameliorate inflammation in the limbs or protect articular cartilage from degradation in a collagen antibody-induced arthritis mouse model.

Nanoindentation time-dependent deformation/recovery suggestive of methylglyoxal induced glycation in calcified nodules

Although empirical findings have indicated increase in bone fracture risk in type 2 diabetes patients, that has yet to be proven by results obtained at the material level. Here, we report evidence showing nanoscale time-dependent deformation/recovery of in vitro calcified nodules mimicking bone turnover in type 2 diabetes in respect to methylglyoxal (MG)-induced glycation. Nanoindentation test results revealed that calcified nodules cultured with MG did not show adequate dimensional recovery, despite a large creep rate during constant load indentation testing. This lesser recovery is likely based on the linear matrix polymerization network formed by advanced glycation end products (AGEs) as a secondary product of MG. Since elevated serum MG and abnormal bone turnover related to the amount of AGEs are observed in cases of type 2 diabetes, this time-dependent behavior may be one of the factors of the bone fracture mechanism at the material level in affected patients.