Dysregulated gene expression in human osteoarthritic (OA) and rheumatoid arthritis (RA) synovium

Osteoarthritis (OA) causes pain and functional disability for over 500 million people worldwide and is characterized by progressive loss of cartilage and synovial hyperplasia from the articulating surfaces of diarthrodial joints. Although the etiology of the disease is unknown, it is widely accepted that these degenerative changes arise from an imbalance of synthetic and degradative pathways that control cartilage and synovium extracellular matrix metabolism. Genome-wide U133A Affymetrix oligonucleotide array set was used to comprehensively investigate the expression pattern in non-osteoarthritis (normal) and synovium obtained from OA and rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients undergoing knee replacement surgery. This study was undertaken to understand the disease's molecular basis better and provide relevant insight into phenotypical alterations and mechanisms involved in OA pathogenesis. Analyzed 7 normal and 7 OA and 2 RA synovium samples.