Tribological altruism: A sacrificial layer mechanism of synovial joint lubrication in articular cartilage.

Boundary lubrication is characterized by sliding surfaces separated by a molecularly thin film that reduces friction and wear of the underlying substrate when fluid lubrication cannot be established. In this study, the wear and replenishment rates of articular cartilage were examined in the context of friction coefficient changes, protein loss, and direct imaging of the surface ultrastructure, to determine the efficiency of the boundary lubricant (BL) layer. Depletion of cartilage lubricity occurred with the concomitant loss of surface proteoglycans. Restoration of lubrication by incubation with synovial fluid was much faster than incubation with culture media and isolated superficial zone protein. The replenishment action of the BL layer in articular cartilage was rapid, with the rate of formation exceeding the rate of depletion of the BL layer to effectively protect the tissue from mechanical wear. The obtained results indicate that boundary lubrication in articular cartilage depends in part on a sacrificial layer mechanism. The present study provides insight into the natural mechanisms that minimize wear and resist tissue degeneration over the lifetime of an organism.

The role of lubricant entrapment at biological interfaces: reduction of friction and adhesion in articular cartilage.

Friction and adhesion of articular cartilage from high- and low-load-bearing regions of bovine knee joints were examined with a tribometer under various loads and equilibration times. The effect of trapped lubricants was investigated by briefly unloading the cartilage sample before friction testing, to allow fluid to reflow into the contact interface and boundary lubricants to rearrange. Friction and adhesion of high-load-bearing joint regions were consistently lower than those of low-load-bearing regions. This investigation is the first to demonstrate the regional variation in the friction and adhesion properties of articular cartilage. Friction coefficient decreased with increasing contact pressure and decreasing equilibration time. Briefly unloading cartilage before the onset of sliding resulted in significantly lower friction and adhesion and a loss of the friction dependence on contact pressure, suggesting an enhancement of the cartilage tribological properties by trapped lubricants. The results of this study reveal significant differences in the friction and adhesion properties between high- and low-load-bearing joint regions and elucidate the role of trapped lubricants in cartilage tribology.

Dependence of nanoscale friction and adhesion properties of articular cartilage on contact load.

Boundary lubrication of articular cartilage by conformal, molecularly thin films reduces friction and adhesion between asperities at the cartilage-cartilage contact interface when the contact conditions are not conducive to fluid film lubrication. In this study, the nanoscale friction and adhesion properties of articular cartilage from typical load-bearing and non-load-bearing joint regions were studied in the boundary lubrication regime under a range of physiological contact pressures using an atomic force microscope (AFM). Adhesion of load-bearing cartilage was found to be much lower than that of non-load-bearing cartilage. In addition, load-bearing cartilage demonstrated steady and low friction coefficient through the entire load range examined, whereas non-load-bearing cartilage showed higher friction coefficient that decreased nonlinearly with increasing normal load. AFM imaging and roughness calculations indicated that the above trends in the nanotribological properties of cartilage are not due to topographical (roughness) differences. However, immunohistochemistry revealed consistently higher surface concentration of boundary lubricant at load-bearing joint regions. The results of this study suggest that under contact conditions leading to joint starvation from fluid lubrication, the higher content of boundary lubricant at load-bearing cartilage sites preserves synovial joint function by minimizing adhesion and wear at asperity microcontacts, which are precursors for tissue degeneration.

Effects of TGF-ß1 on alternative splicing of Superficial Zone Protein in articular cartilage cultures.

OBJECTIVE: Superficial Zone Protein (SZP) is expressed by the superficial zone chondrocytes and is involved in boundary lubrication of the articular cartilage surface. SZP protein expression is dependent on anatomical location and is regulated by the transforming growth factor-ß (TGF-ß) pathway. The hypothesis of this study was that between load-bearing, and non-load-bearing locations, of the femoral medial condyle alternative splice isoforms of SZP are different, and regulated by TGF-ß1. METHODS: Using reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) we identified differentially expressed SZP alternative splicing. Using recombinant proteins of the N-terminal region produced from these isoforms, we identified differences in binding to heparin and the extracellular matrix. RESULTS: We identified a novel splice form of SZP (isoform E), lacking exons 2-5. Differences in alternative splicing were observed between anterior load-bearing locations of the femoral medial condyle (M1) compared to the posterior non-load-bearing location (M4). TGF-ß1 increased splicing out of exons 4 and 5 encoding a heparin binding domain. The minimal induction time for changes in splicing by TGF-ß1 at the M1 location was 1h, although this did change total SZP mRNA levels. Inhibition of Smad3 phosphorylation inhibited TGF-ß1 induced splicing, and SZP protein expression. Recombinant proteins corresponding to isoforms upregulated by TGF-ß1 had reduced binding. The SZP dimerization domain is located within exon 3. CONCLUSIONS: In conclusion, alternative splicing of SZP is regulated by TGF-ß1 signaling and may regulate SZP interaction with heparin/heparan sulfate or other components in the extracellular matrix of articular cartilage by splicing out of the heparin binding domain.

Atomic force microscope investigation of the boundary-lubricant layer in articular cartilage.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the roles of superficial zone protein (SZP), hyaluronan (HA), and surface-active phospholipids (SAPL) in boundary lubrication of articular cartilage through systematic enzyme digestion using trypsin, hyaluronidase, and phospolipase-C (PLC) surface treatments. METHODS: The friction coefficient of articular cartilage surfaces was measured with an atomic force microscope (AFM) before and after enzyme digestion. Surface roughness, adhesion, and stiffness of the articular surface were also measured to determine the mechanism of friction in the boundary lubrication regime. Histology and transmission electron microscopy were used to visualize the surface changes of treatment groups that showed significant friction changes after enzyme digestion. RESULTS: A significant increase in the friction coefficient of both load-bearing and non load-bearing regions of the joint was observed after proteolysis by trypsin. Treatment with trypsin, hyaluronidase, or PLC did not affect the surface roughness. However, trypsin treatment decreased the adhesion significantly. Results indicate that the protein component at the articular cartilage surface is the main boundary lubricant, with SZP being a primary candidate. The prevailing nanoscale deformation processes are likely plastic and/or viscoelastic in nature, suggesting that plowing is the dominant friction mechanism. CONCLUSIONS: The findings of this study indicate that SZP plays an intrinsic and critical role in boundary lubrication at the articular surface of cartilage, whereas the effects of HA and SAPL on the tribological behavior are marginal.