Sulphate Metabolism of Articular Cartilage after Surgical Interference with the Joint

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Abstract
Sulfate metabolism in femoral cartilage from the operated joint of rabbits was compared with the contralateral unoperated knee. Increased cellular utilization of sulfate can be locally induced in an articular cartilage by various surgical procedures not directly injuring the articular surface. Such an effect which occurred most frequently when the operative procedure included injury to the opposing articular surface in the same joint sometimes followed the insertion of a small piece of cartilage or chemically inert plastic into the joint cavity. It occasionally followed merely opening the joint capsule and suturing after manipulating the patella. Articular cartilage previously labelled with radioactive sulfate showed increased sulfate loss in vivo after insertion of a small piece of cartilage into the joint cavity. A change in the local environment of an articular cartilage can sometimes increase its turnover of sulfated ground substance. The sulfate metabolism was altered at a time after operation when the femoral articular cartilage usually showed no evidence of fibrillation, although there was often a slight reduction in the number of nuclei in its superficial zone.