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Immunolocalization of water channel aquaporins in human knee articular cartilage with intact and early degenerative regions

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Abstract

Aquaporins (AQPs), a family of water channel proteins expressed in various cells and tissues, serve as physiological pathways of water and small solute transport. Articular cartilage is avascular tissue with unique biomechanical structure, a major component of which is “water”. Our objective is to investigate the immunolocalization and expression pattern changes of AQPs in articular cartilage with normal and early degenerative regions in the human knee joint, which is the joint most commonly involved in osteoarthritis (OA). Two isoforms (AQPs 1 and 3) of AQPs were examined by immunohistochemical analyses using isoform-specific antibodies with cartilage samples from OA patients undergoing total knee arthroplasty. AQP 1 and AQP 3 were expressed in human knee articular cartilage and were localized in chondrocytes, both in the intact and early degenerative cartilage regions. Compared to the intact cartilage, both AQP 1 and AQP 3 immunopositive cells were observed at the damaged surface area in the degenerative region. These findings suggest that these AQPs play roles in metabolic water regulation in articular cartilage of load bearing joints and that they are responsible for OA onset.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Ms. Hiroe Miyahata from Gunma University Graduate School of Medicine for her technical assistance.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Graduate School of Medicine, Gunma University, 3-39-22 Showa-machi, Maebashi, Gunma, 371-8511, Japan

    Keiichi Hagiwara, Tetsuya Shinozaki & Kenji Takagishi

  2. Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, Graduate School of Medicine, Gunma University, Maebashi, Japan

    Toshiyuki Matsuzaki & Kuniaki Takata

Authors
  1. Keiichi Hagiwara
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  2. Tetsuya Shinozaki
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  3. Toshiyuki Matsuzaki
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  4. Kuniaki Takata
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  5. Kenji Takagishi
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Correspondence to Tetsuya Shinozaki.

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Hagiwara, K., Shinozaki, T., Matsuzaki, T. et al. Immunolocalization of water channel aquaporins in human knee articular cartilage with intact and early degenerative regions. Med Mol Morphol 46, 104–108 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00795-013-0014-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00795-013-0014-3

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