Contributions of chondrocyte senescence and menopause to the increased incidence of osteoarthritis in older women

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a degenerative joint disease and a leading cause of disability worldwide. Aging is one of the major risk factors for OA, with the disease prevalence dramatically increasing after age 50. While OA is strongly associated with aging, the specific mechanisms underlying this connection remain unclear. In this pilot study, we performed bulk RNA sequencing on human knee articular chondrocytes to identify transcriptomic changes underlying OA development in the context of aging. We compared the gene expression profiles of chondrocytes isolated from osteoarthritic cartilage of older individuals (age 70-80 years) to those of chondrocytes from the healthy cartilage of a young adult (age 26 years). To model aging in vitro, chondrocytes were serially passaged until they reached the replicative senescence. osteoarthritic chondrocytes and healthy chondrocytes were used. The cells from each biospecimen were subjected to replicative senescence by passaging until they reached their Hayflick limit,which designated as old cells.