# MOLECULAR PHYSIOLOGY OF ARTICULAR CARTILAGE

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF CONNECTICUT SCH OF MED/DNT · 1993 · $230,537

## Abstract

In osteoarthritis the integrity of articular cartilage is damaged,
compromising both the mechanical functioning and the self-repair
capability of the tissue.  The goal of this project is to elucidate the
roles of collagen and proteoglycan in the biomechanical and homeostatic
functions of normal and osteoarthritic cartilage.  The specific aims of
this proposal are: to characterize the molecular packing of the collagen
fibrils and the fixed charged density of proteoglycans in the articular
cartilage of the knee as a function of topography and age, with the view
of evaluating how the structures and properties of the macromolecules in
articular cartilage depend on their mechanochemical history; to
characterize the mechanisms of interaction between proteoglycans and
collagen as a function of age and site in articular cartilages; and to
elucidate the determinants of fibril swelling and compressibility of the
collagen in articular cartilage as compared to those bone and soft
tissues.  The fibril orientation, and their relative alignment and
compressibility throughout cartilages will be determined by X-ray
diffraction techniques.  The axial periodicity, the lateral distances
between molecules in the fibrils, and other regularities in the molecular
packing will also be characterized by x-ray diffraction.  The space
occupied by collagen fibrils as well as the state of the charged residues
in the cartilage collagen fibrils will be measured by physical chemical
methods.  The charge density distribution and the mechanism of action of
the endogenous force fields that are generated in cartilages by
proteoglycans will be characterized using optical and physical chemical
methods.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 3158240
- **Project number:** 2R01AR037604-06A1
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF CONNECTICUT SCH OF MED/DNT
- **SAM.gov UEI:** H6D6JMXJXDE6
- **Principal Investigator:** ELTON P KATZ
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 1993
- **Award amount:** $230,537
- **Award type:** 2
- **Project period:** 1986-08-01 → 1996-12-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/3158240

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 3158240, MOLECULAR PHYSIOLOGY OF ARTICULAR CARTILAGE (2R01AR037604-06A1). Retrieved via MORVS 2026-10-25 from https://api.morvs.ai/grant/nih/3158240. Licensed CC0.

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