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Review
. 2015 Aug 31;16(9):20560-75.
doi: 10.3390/ijms160920560.

Biomarkers of Chondrocyte Apoptosis and Autophagy in Osteoarthritis

Giuseppe Musumeci  1 , Paola Castrogiovanni  2 , Francesca Maria Trovato  3 , Annelie Martina Weinberg  4 , Mohammad K Al-Wasiyah  5   6 , Mohammed H Alqahtani  7 , Ali Mobasheri  8   9   10
Affiliations
Review

Biomarkers of Chondrocyte Apoptosis and Autophagy in Osteoarthritis

Giuseppe Musumeci et al. Int J Mol Sci. .

Abstract

Cell death with morphological and molecular features of apoptosis has been detected in osteoarthritic (OA) cartilage, which suggests a key role for chondrocyte death/survival in the pathogenesis of OA. Identification of biomarkers of chondrocyte apoptosis may facilitate the development of novel therapies that may eliminate the cause or, at least, slow down the degenerative processes in OA. The aim of this review was to explore the molecular markers and signals that induce chondrocyte apoptosis in OA. A literature search was conducted in PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science and Google Scholar using the keywords chondrocyte death, apoptosis, osteoarthritis, autophagy and biomarker. Several molecules considered to be markers of chondrocyte apoptosis will be discussed in this brief review. Molecular markers and signalling pathways associated with chondroycte apoptosis may turn out to be therapeutic targets in OA and approaches aimed at neutralizing apoptosis-inducing molecules may at least delay the progression of cartilage degeneration in OA.

Keywords: apoptosis; autophagy; biomarker; chondrocyte death; osteoarthritis (OA).

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
The intrinsic pathway of apoptosis. Bcl-2: B-cell lymphoma-2; Bcl-XL: B-cell lymphoma-XL; Bax: Bcl-2-associated X protein; Bak: Bcl-2 homologous antagonist/killer; Bid: BH3 interacting domain death agonist; dATP: deoxyadenosine triphosphate; Apaf-1: apoptotic protease activating factor.
Figure 2
Figure 2
The extrinsic pathway of apoptosis. FasL: death-inducing molecule Fas ligand; FADD: Fas-associated death domain; Flip: FLICE inhibitory protein; Bid: BH3 interacting domain death agonist.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Key features of autophagy. Cytoplasmic and intracellular organelles are sequestered within autophagic vacuoles to be degraded by lysosomes.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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