Type H vessels—a bridge connecting subchondral bone remodelling and articular cartilage degeneration in osteoarthritis development

• Published in: Rheumatology (Oxford, England) Vol. 62; no. 4; pp. 1436 - 1444
• Main Authors: Liu, Yuan, Xie, Hui-Qi, Shen, Bin
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Oxford University Press 03.04.2023
• Subjects: Bone and Bones - pathology; Bone Remodeling; Cartilage, Articular - metabolism; Humans; Osteoarthritis, Knee - pathology; Osteogenesis; type H vessels; subchondral bone; TGF-β; knee osteoarthritis; PDGF-BB
• ISSN: 1462-0324; 1462-0332; 1462-0332
• DOI: 10.1093/rheumatology/keac539

Abstract Recent studies have shed light on the cellular and molecular mechanisms that link subchondral bone remodelling and angiogenesis in knee osteoarthritis (OA). Type H vessels are a newly identified bone blood vessel characterized by high expression of CD31 and endomucin that are coupled with osteogenesis. Factors including mechanical loading, TGF-β1, platelet-derived growth factor type BB, the osteoprotegerin–RANK ligand–RANK system, osteopontin, mechanistic target of rapamycin, VEGF, stromal cell-derived factor l and prostaglandin E2 participate in the formation of type H vessels in osteoarthritic subchondral bone. In this review, we summarize the current understanding of type H vessels in knee OA, as well as the signalling pathways involved and potential therapeutic medicines. In future, the pathogenesis of knee OA could be further clarified by connecting type H vessels and the design of new disease-modifying osteoarthritis drugs. However, further experiments are needed to determine the upstream signals regulating type H vessel formation in osteoarthritic subchondral bone.