Bone marrow lesions in osteoarthritis: Characterising genetic and histological changes to understand disease pathophysiology

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a chronic debilitating condition that affects the whole joint. There are several sources of pain in OA that include the synovium, bone, including osteophytes and more recently bone marrow lesions (BML) that correlate with pain. Recent studies have shown that the bone compartme...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Nidhi Sofat, Franklyn Arron Howe
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2024-12-01
Series:Osteoarthritis and Cartilage Open
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2665913124000980
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1850225097001926656
author Nidhi Sofat
Franklyn Arron Howe
author_facet Nidhi Sofat
Franklyn Arron Howe
author_sort Nidhi Sofat
collection DOAJ
description Osteoarthritis (OA) is a chronic debilitating condition that affects the whole joint. There are several sources of pain in OA that include the synovium, bone, including osteophytes and more recently bone marrow lesions (BML) that correlate with pain. Recent studies have shown that the bone compartment contributes to pain in OA through the development of OA-BMLs which are richly innervated and demonstrate angiogenesis. The synovium is also innervated in OA tissue and is another distinct source of pain, with imaging and genetic studies supporting the observation that synovitis is an important component of pain in OA. Previous studies using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) have shown that bone marrow lesions (BMLs), observed as high intensity signal on T2 fat-suppressed imaging sequences, are commonly found in OA and are associated with progression of pain symptoms. Recent studies have described the genetic signature of BMLs and the characteristic histological changes of BML tissue. In this narrative review we describe the recent developments in the discovery of the gene expression profiles identified from BMLs. We also review the recently characterised histological changes from BMLs in large weight-bearing joints including the knee and hip. Finally, we discuss the implications of new genetic and histological findings in BML in the context of new developments for pharmacological therapies in OA.
format Article
id doaj-art-4158dbe8fd0b426b9d06f465a0074ef9
institution OA Journals
issn 2665-9131
language English
publishDate 2024-12-01
publisher Elsevier
record_format Article
series Osteoarthritis and Cartilage Open
spelling doaj-art-4158dbe8fd0b426b9d06f465a0074ef92025-08-20T02:05:28ZengElsevierOsteoarthritis and Cartilage Open2665-91312024-12-016410053110.1016/j.ocarto.2024.100531Bone marrow lesions in osteoarthritis: Characterising genetic and histological changes to understand disease pathophysiologyNidhi Sofat0Franklyn Arron Howe1Institute for Infection and Immunity, School of Health & Medical Sciences, City St Georgeʼs, University of London, London, UK; Department of Rheumatology, St George’s University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, UK; Corresponding author. Institute for Infection and Immunity, St George’s University of London, Cranmer Terrace, London, SW17 ORE, UK.Neuroscience & Cell Biology Research Institute, School of Health & Medical Sciences, City St Georgeʼs, University of London, London, UKOsteoarthritis (OA) is a chronic debilitating condition that affects the whole joint. There are several sources of pain in OA that include the synovium, bone, including osteophytes and more recently bone marrow lesions (BML) that correlate with pain. Recent studies have shown that the bone compartment contributes to pain in OA through the development of OA-BMLs which are richly innervated and demonstrate angiogenesis. The synovium is also innervated in OA tissue and is another distinct source of pain, with imaging and genetic studies supporting the observation that synovitis is an important component of pain in OA. Previous studies using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) have shown that bone marrow lesions (BMLs), observed as high intensity signal on T2 fat-suppressed imaging sequences, are commonly found in OA and are associated with progression of pain symptoms. Recent studies have described the genetic signature of BMLs and the characteristic histological changes of BML tissue. In this narrative review we describe the recent developments in the discovery of the gene expression profiles identified from BMLs. We also review the recently characterised histological changes from BMLs in large weight-bearing joints including the knee and hip. Finally, we discuss the implications of new genetic and histological findings in BML in the context of new developments for pharmacological therapies in OA.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2665913124000980OsteoarthritisBone marrow lesionsOsteoarthritis bone scoreGenetics
spellingShingle Nidhi Sofat
Franklyn Arron Howe
Bone marrow lesions in osteoarthritis: Characterising genetic and histological changes to understand disease pathophysiology
Osteoarthritis and Cartilage Open
Osteoarthritis
Bone marrow lesions
Osteoarthritis bone score
Genetics
title Bone marrow lesions in osteoarthritis: Characterising genetic and histological changes to understand disease pathophysiology
title_full Bone marrow lesions in osteoarthritis: Characterising genetic and histological changes to understand disease pathophysiology
title_fullStr Bone marrow lesions in osteoarthritis: Characterising genetic and histological changes to understand disease pathophysiology
title_full_unstemmed Bone marrow lesions in osteoarthritis: Characterising genetic and histological changes to understand disease pathophysiology
title_short Bone marrow lesions in osteoarthritis: Characterising genetic and histological changes to understand disease pathophysiology
title_sort bone marrow lesions in osteoarthritis characterising genetic and histological changes to understand disease pathophysiology
topic Osteoarthritis
Bone marrow lesions
Osteoarthritis bone score
Genetics
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2665913124000980
work_keys_str_mv AT nidhisofat bonemarrowlesionsinosteoarthritischaracterisinggeneticandhistologicalchangestounderstanddiseasepathophysiology
AT franklynarronhowe bonemarrowlesionsinosteoarthritischaracterisinggeneticandhistologicalchangestounderstanddiseasepathophysiology