Up-regulation of cartilage oligomeric matrix protein at the onset of articular cartilage degeneration in a transgenic mouse model of osteoarthritis

Abstract

These findings suggest that upregulation of COMP mRNA and redistribution of the protein are characteristic of the early stages of articular cartilage degeneration in the transgenic mouse model in which OA results from a dominant-negative mutation in the type II collagen gene. The data provide additional support for the notion that COMP is a useful marker for altered cartilage metabolism in developing OA.