Global Metabolic Analysis of Synovial Fluid Extraction Between ACL Tear, General Trauma, and Osteoarthritis Patients

Abstract

Osteoarthritis is an inflammatory disease found in the joints causing severe pain and discomfort in patients. Joint trauma is thought to be one cause of osteoarthritis as patients with prior injury often develop the disease later in life. This experiment will use the study of metabolomics to compare the biomarkers found in synovial fluid extracted from patients who have experienced trauma in the knee and those with osteoarthritis. The patient samples include joint trauma from tearing of the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) and general trauma. The biomarkers found in the ACL tear and general trauma samples are expected to be similar to those found in the osteoarthritis patient samples, thereby providing a potential link between trauma and development of osteoarthritis. By analyzing using metabolomics, a snapshot of the activity within the synovial fluid immediately after an injury will be assessed and thereby provide important information for future research. This research will use liquid chromatography-mass spectroscopy and various statistical and functional analyses to understand these differences between trauma and diseased groups.