An aggrecan fragment drives osteoarthritis pain through Toll-like receptor 2

Rachel E. Miller, Shingo Ishihara, Phuong B. Tran, Suzanne B. Golub, Karena Last, Richard J. Miller, Amanda J. Fosang, Anne Marie Malfait

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

80 Scopus citations

Abstract

Pain is the predominant symptom of osteoarthritis, but the connection between joint damage and the genesis of pain is not well understood. Loss of articular cartilage is a hallmark of osteoarthritis, and it occurs through enzymatic degradation of aggrecan by cleavage mediated by a disintegrin and metalloproteinase with thrombospondin motif 4 (ADAMTS-4) or ADAMTS-5 in the interglobular domain (E373-374A). Further cleavage by MMPs (N341-342F) releases a 32-amino-acid aggrecan fragment (32-mer). We investigated the role of this 32-mer in driving joint pain. We found that the 32-mer excites dorsal root ganglion nociceptive neurons, both in culture and in intact explants. Treatment of cultured sensory neurons with the 32-mer induced expression of the proalgesic chemokine CCL2. These effects were mediated through TLR2, which we demonstrated was expressed by nociceptive neurons. In addition, intra-articular injection of the 32-mer fragment provoked knee hyperalgesia in WT but not Tlr2-null mice. Blocking the production or action of the 32-mer in transgenic mice prevented the development of knee hyperalgesia in a murine model of osteoarthritis. These findings suggest that the aggrecan 32-mer fragment directly activates TLR2 on joint nociceptors and is an important mediator of the development of osteoarthritis-associated joint pain.

Original languageEnglish (US)
JournalJCI Insight
Volume3
Issue number6
DOIs
StatePublished - Mar 22 2018

Keywords

  • Bone Biology
  • Extracellular matrix
  • Neuroscience
  • Osteoarthritis
  • Pain

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Medicine

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'An aggrecan fragment drives osteoarthritis pain through Toll-like receptor 2'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this