# PATHOBIOLOGY OF ARTICULAR CARTILAGE DEGENERATION

> **NIH NIH R01** · MONTEFIORE MEDICAL CENTER (BRONX, NY) · 1989 · $192,104

## Abstract

The long term goal is to determine whether the partial substitution of
dermatan sulfate proteoglycans (DS-PGs) of small size with feeble elastic
properties for cartilage-specific proteoglycans of large size with potent
elastic properties is a central event in the development of the articular
cartilage degeneration which occurs in several human diseases.  We have
recently demonstrated the presence of DS-PGs in significant amounts in
aging bovine articular cartilages.  The articular cartilages contain two
different species of DS-PGs called DS-PGI and DS-PGII, with molecular
weights of 80,000 to 140,000.  DS-PGI self-associates, while DS-PGII does
not.  The specific aims of the proposed research are:  to develop efficient
methods for the isolation to homogeneity of DS-PGI and DS-PGII, to prepare
DS-PGI and DS-PGII from bovine and human articular cartilages in amounts
sufficient for detailed chemical studies and to prepare monospecific
antibodies to each species; to define the structure and properties of the
two proteoglycans in terms of chemical composition, molecular weights and
self-association properties; to show that DS-PGI and DS-PGII possess
different core proteins; to elucidate the basis for the self-association of
DS-PGI, in terms of the copolymeric structure of its glycosminoglycan
chains; to determine the changes in the concentrations of the DS-PGs which
occur during aging in bovine and human articular cartilages; to determine
whether the partial substitution of DS-PGs for cartilage-specific
proteoglycans during aging predisposes and contributes to the development
of osteoarthritis, and to determine whether this phenomenon is involved in
the pathogenesis of osteoarthritis.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 3156884
- **Project number:** 5R01AR034614-05
- **Recipient organization:** MONTEFIORE MEDICAL CENTER (BRONX, NY)
- **SAM.gov UEI:** FP1VD1HU5HV7
- **Principal Investigator:** LAWRENCE ROSENBERG
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 1989
- **Award amount:** $192,104
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 1984-12-01 → 1989-11-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/3156884

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 3156884, PATHOBIOLOGY OF ARTICULAR CARTILAGE DEGENERATION (5R01AR034614-05). Retrieved via MORVS 2026-10-24 from https://api.morvs.ai/grant/nih/3156884. Licensed CC0.

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