The objective of this proposal is to translate a novel, noninvasive method of measuring articular cartilage biomechanics, dualMRI, to humans. Osteoarthritis (OA) is a degenerative disease of the joint and a common orthopaedic problem, afflicting nearly 20% of the US population. The pathophysiology of OA involves a degenerative cascade in articular cartilage that disrupts normal extracellular matrix protein synthesis and increases inflammatory cytokine and enzyme expression. Articular cartilage is a zonal tissue whose biomechanical function is sensitive to degeneration. Specifically, proteoglycan breakdown and loss of structural integrity alters the three dimensional (3D) strain patterns within the tissue during mechanical loading. The development of emerging biological therapies and management strategies, including gene therapy, injection of prophylactic proteins, and stem and autologous cell implantation, are currently limited by a lack of a suitable, noninvasive method of measuring the biomechanical function of cartilage in humans. We developed dualMRI (displacements under applied loading by MRI) as a solution to the need for an imaging biomarker that noninvasively characterizes the biomechanical functional of musculoskeletal tissues following therapy. We propose to establish a working protocol for in vivo dualMRI in human volunteers using custom mechanical loading methods and MRI pulse sequences. We will pursue two related specific aims.
In Aim 1, we will quantify 3D patterns of articular cartilag strain by dualMRI in human volunteers.
In Aim 2, we will correlate dualMRI strains and quantitative MRI (qMRI) measures in articular cartilage. If successful, we will establish a new tool for the noninvasive, in vivo, functional biomechanical assessment of articular cartilage. This work will provide the musculoskeletal research community with (a) a clinical diagnostic tool to evaluate efficacy of therapeutic agents to target early degeneration in animal and human trials, (b) the ability to functionally evaluate cartilage healing and repair with emerging therapies, (c) baseline data describing the healthy function of human cartilage in vivo, and (d) a platform technology to more broadly study biomechanical function of load-bearing tissues (e.g. meniscus, ligament) in vivo.

Public Health Relevance

The impact of osteoarthritis on human health is enormous. The proposed research will likely improve our ability to monitor degenerative changes in cartilage following injury and repair by using novel noninvasive magnetic resonance imaging techniques and human populations. We aim to establish a foundational and clinically- relevant imaging technique to quantify damage and repair through noninvasive strain measures, and compare the technique to conventional imaging assays.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS)
Type
Exploratory/Developmental Grants (R21)
Project #
1R21AR066230-01
Application #
8682517
Study Section
Skeletal Biology Structure and Regeneration Study Section (SBSR)
Program Officer
Lester, Gayle E
Project Start
2014-04-01
Project End
2016-03-31
Budget Start
2014-04-01
Budget End
2015-03-31
Support Year
1
Fiscal Year
2014
Total Cost
$195,331
Indirect Cost
$63,331
Name
Purdue University
Department
Engineering (All Types)
Type
Schools of Engineering
DUNS #
072051394
City
West Lafayette
State
IN
Country
United States
Zip Code
47907
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Ghosh, Soham; Cimino, James G; Scott, Adrienne K et al. (2017) In Vivo Multiscale and Spatially-Dependent Biomechanics Reveals Differential Strain Transfer Hierarchy in Skeletal Muscle. ACS Biomater Sci Eng 3:2798-2805
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Xu, Xin; Li, Zhiyu; Leng, Yue et al. (2016) Knockdown of the pericellular matrix molecule perlecan lowers in situ cell and matrix stiffness in developing cartilage. Dev Biol 418:242-7
Xu, Xin; Li, Zhiyu; Cai, Luyao et al. (2016) Mapping the Nonreciprocal Micromechanics of Individual Cells and the Surrounding Matrix Within Living Tissues. Sci Rep 6:24272
Chan, Deva D; Cai, Luyao; Butz, Kent D et al. (2016) In vivo articular cartilage deformation: noninvasive quantification of intratissue strain during joint contact in the human knee. Sci Rep 6:19220
Calve, Sarah; Ready, Andrew; Huppenbauer, Christopher et al. (2015) Optical clearing in dense connective tissues to visualize cellular connectivity in situ. PLoS One 10:e0116662
Neu, C P; Novak, T; Gilliland, K F et al. (2015) Optical clearing in collagen- and proteoglycan-rich osteochondral tissues. Osteoarthritis Cartilage 23:405-13
Neu, C P (2014) Functional imaging in OA: role of imaging in the evaluation of tissue biomechanics. Osteoarthritis Cartilage 22:1349-59

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