Regulatory Roles of Decorin in Maintenance & Remodeling of Articular Cartilage Matrix During Aging

Thursday, August 21, 2025

2:00 PM-4:00 PM

BIOMED PhD Thesis Defense

Title: 
The Regulatory Roles of Decorin in the Maintenance and Remodeling of Articular Cartilage Matrix During Aging

Speaker:
Mingyue Fan, PhD Candidate
School of Biomedical Engineering, Science and Health Systems
Drexel University

Advisor:
Lin Han, PhD
Professor
School of Biomedical Engineering, Science and Health Systems
Drexel University 

Details:
Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common musculoskeletal disease, afflicts 595 million people, about 7.6% of the entire population worldwide in 2023. The leading causal factor of OA is aging, with one in three adults over age 65 living with OA. One major hallmark of OA is the irreversible breakdown of articular cartilage, the avascular connective tissue at the end of diarthrodial joints essential for lubrication, load transmission and energy dissipative functions. Due to its avascular nature and limited self-repair capabilities, restoring the function of damaged cartilage remains a major clinical challenge. To this day, there is a paucity of knowledge on how aging impacts cartilage extracellular matrix (ECM). The ECM is a hydrated composite of collagen II fibril network entrapping the large proteoglycan aggrecan, which endows the joint with proper biomechanical functioning and chondrocyte mechanotransduction. 

This study was designed with two primary objectives. First, we investigated alterations in cartilage ECM and the resulting effects on chondrocyte mechanotransduction using murine model in the process of natural aging. Second, we elucidated the role of decorin, a small leucine-rich proteoglycan, in regulating cartilage ECM maintenance and remodeling during aging.  Utilizing the cartilage-specific decorin knockout murine mice, we assessed how targeted loss of decorin in cartilage impacts the structural integrity and biomechanics of the ECM during aging, as well as concomitant changes in chondrocyte mechanosensing, fate and transcriptomics. Integrating in vivo studies with molecular biophysical assays, our results highlight that decorin plays distinctive, indispensable roles in maintaining the surface fibril architecture and overall tissue integrity, establishing decorin as a promising target for preventative or reparative strategies targeting aging-associated OA.

Contact Information

Natalia Broz
njb33@drexel.edu