Expression of long non­coding RNAs in chondrocytes from proximal interphalangeal joints.

Osteoarthritis (OA) of hand is a common disease, resulting in disability of the hands. The pathogenesis of hand (H) OA remains to be elucidated, and findings from knee and hip joints cannot be simply applied to HOA. To improve knowledge on the specific biology and pathobiology of HOA, the present study performed bioinformatics analyses to analyze the long non­coding (lnc) RNA expression profile in human chondrocytes of proximal interphalangeal (PIP) finger joints and knee joints. Gene expression data were downloaded from the Gene Expression Omnibus database, and PIP and knee chondrocytes were analyzed (n=3/group). Probes of the Affymetrix Human Gene 2.0 ST Microarray were annotated to obtain information about lncRNA expression profile. Compared with chondrocytes from knee joints, chondrocytes derived from PIP joints had significantly different lncRNA expression profiles, and 1,172 lncRNAs were differentially expressed. Compared with chondrocyte from knee joints, 534 lncRNAs were upregulated and 638 lncRNAs were downregulated in chondrocytes from PIP joints. A co­expression network was constructed to analyze the correlation between lncRNAs and protein­coding genes. Function annotation analyses suggested that protein­coding genes that are co­expressed with lncRNAs are enriched in the biological processes of bone morphogenesis, bone development and cartilage development. In conclusion, the present study demonstrated that chondrocytes derived from PIP joints exhibit a significant difference in lncRNA expression compared with chondrocytes derived from knee joints.

Combined anteversion technique in total hip arthroplasty for Crowe IV developmental dysplasia of the hip.

BACKGROUND: A high rate of postoperative dislocation in total hip arthroplasty (THA) for Crowe IV developmental dysplasia of the hip (DDH) has been reported, 1 of the main reasons being higher true acetabular anteversion. If the cup is fixed with normal anteversion, the anterior rim will be excessively exposed, which reduces the contact areas of the cup and bone, affects prosthesis stability, and leads to iliopsoas tendinitis and persistent hip pain after THA. The aim of this study was to demonstrate that when cup anteversion is larger, adjusting femoral anteversion to bring the combined anteversion (CA) into the "safe zone" might prevent dislocation. METHODS: After having fixed the cup in the acetabulum according to the patients' native acetabular anteversion, we shortened and rotated the proximal femur to reduce femoral anteversion, adjusting the CA into the "safe zone". The Harris Hip Score (HHS) was used to evaluate hip joint function. Computerised tomography scanning was used to measure the anteversion angles. RESULTS: All patients were followed up without any dislocation. Preoperative and 12 months after surgery, the mean HHS were 43.3 ± 2.6 (38-47) and 88.1 ± 3.3 (78-92) respectively. Pre- and post-operation, the mean CA angles were 88.6° ± 9.4° (80.3°-119.4°) and 49.2° ± 2.6° (43.4°-54.4°) respectively. The bone healing time of femoral osteotomy ranged from 4 to 14 months, with a mean time of 7.5 months. CONCLUSIONS: This CA technique in THA for Crowe IV DDH can effectively prevent postoperative dislocation and provide good hip function.