Induction of advanced glycation end products and alterations of the tensile properties of articular cartilage

Chen AC, Temple MM, Ng DM, Verzijl N, DeGroot J, TeKoppele JM, Sah RL · Arthritis and Rheumatism

The result that keeps this topic honest, because it cuts both ways. Ribose treatment raised pentosidine and AGE fluorescence to aged-human levels (p < 0.001) and produced a 60% increase in dynamic modulus and a 35% increase in strength — cartilage got stiffer *and stronger* — alongside a 25% fall in strain at failure. The authors note the added strength may partly offset degeneration, while the loss of extensibility makes the tissue brittle and prone to stress concentration and fracture.

Population

Adult bovine articular cartilage incubated with ribose to reach AGE levels found in aged human cartilage

Intervention

Induced AGE crosslinking

Comparator

Control incubation

Limitations

Bovine explants and a laboratory sugar. Whether brittleness or added strength dominates in a living joint is not settled by a materials test.