Loss of articular cartilage because of extracellular matrix breakdown is the hallmark of arthritis. Degradative fragments of cartilage oligomeric matrix protein (COMP), a prominent noncollagenous matrix component in articular cartilage, have been observed in the cartilage, synovial fluid, and serum of arthritis patients. The molecular mechanism of COMP degradation and the enzyme(s) responsible for it, however, remain largely unknown. ADAMTS-12 (a disintegrin and metalloprotease with thrombospondin motifs) was shown to associate with COMP both in vitro and in vivo. ADAMTS-12 selectively binds to only the epidermal growth factorlike repeat domain of COMP of the four functional domains tested. The four C-terminal TSP-1-like repeats of ADAMTS-12 are shown to be necessary and sufficient for its interaction with COMP. Recombinant ADAMTS-12 is capable of digesting COMP in vitro. The COMP-degrading activity of ADAMTS-12 requires the presence of Zn 2؉ and appropriate pH (7.5-9.5), and the level of ADAMTS-12 in the cartilage and synovium of patients with both osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis is significantly higher than in normal cartilage and synovium. Together, these findings indicate that ADAMTS-12 is a new COMP-interacting and -degrading enzyme and thus may play an important role in the COMP degradation in the initiation and progression of arthritis.More than 15% of the world population older than 18 years are affected by arthritic disorders, including osteoarthritis (OA) 3 and rheumatoid arthritis (RA) (1). Accumulating evidence suggests that proteases perform an important function in the breakdown of the extracellular matrix in OA and RA (2). Cartilage oligomeric matrix protein (COMP), a prominent noncollagenous component of cartilage, accounts for ϳ1% of the wet weight of articular tissue (3, 4). COMP is a 524-kDa pentameric, disulfide-bonded, multidomain glycoprotein composed of approximately equal subunits (ϳ110 kDa each) (5, 6). Several studies suggest that monitoring of COMP levels (in both joint fluid and serum) can be used to assess the presence and progression of arthritis (7-11). Synovial fluid COMP levels were found to be higher in individuals with knee pain or injury (12), anterior cruciate ligament or meniscal injury (9, 12), OA (8, 12), and RA (7, 13) than in healthy individuals.Fragments of COMP have been detected in the cartilage, synovial fluid, and serum of patients with post-traumatic and primary OA and RA (7,8,13). The molecular mechanism of COMP degradation and the enzyme (s) responsible for it, however, remain largely unknown. Theoretically, inhibition of degradative enzymes can slow down or block the initiation and progression of arthritic diseases. The isolation of cartilage degradative enzymes is therefore of great interest from both a pathophysiological and a therapeutic standpoint. The ADAMTS family (ADAMTS: (a disintegrin and metalloprotease with thrombospondin motifs) consists of secreted zinc metalloproteinases with a precisely ordered modular organization that includes at least o...

BackgroundNegative pressure wound dressings have revolutionized the treatment of open wounds by stimulating the formation of granulation tissue and hastening wound closure. We hypothesized that negative pressure therapy in the immediate postoperative period after total knee arthroplasty (TKA) in high-risk patients would also hasten the time to a dry wound.

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