Affiliations: Bone and Cartilage Research Unit, Institute of Pathology, CHU Sart‐Tilman, 4000 Liège, Belgium | Princess Paola Hospital, 6900 Marche‐en‐Famenne, Belgium | Nordic Bioscience, Herlev Hovedgade 207, Herlev, Denmark
Note: [] Address for correspondence: Prof. Y. Henrotin, Bone and Cartilage Research Unit, Institute of pathology, CHU Sart‐Tilman, 4000 Liège, Belgium. Tel.: +32 4 366 24 67; Fax: +32 4 366 47 34; E‐mail: yhenrotin@ulg.ac.be.
Abstract: This paper describes two new immunoassays for a peptide of the triple helix of type II collagen (Coll 2‐1) and its nitrated form (Coll 2‐1 NO2). In healthy subjects aged between 20 and 65 years old, Coll 2‐1 and Coll 2‐1 NO2 levels in serum were in means 125.13±3.71 and 0.16±0.08 nmol/l, respectively. These levels did not significantly vary with age. However, up to 45 years of age, Coll 2‐1 NO2 levels in women were significantly higher than in men. In patients with knee osteoarthritis (OA), Coll 2‐1 in serum was found to be elevated compared to healthy controls (267.45±26.42 nmol/l vs 126.78±6.61 nmol/l). Further, we have demonstrated that an increase of the urinary levels of Coll 2‐1 or Coll 2‐1 NO2 over 1 year was predictive of joint space narrowing progression in OA patients. In conclusion, these preliminary results indicate that Coll 2‐1 could be a predictive marker of knee OA progression.
