MACROPHAGE DYSFUNCTION: EVIDENCE OF IMPAIRED SYNOVIAL MACROPHAGE-MEDIATED EFFEROCYTOSIS IN PATIENTS WITH KNEE OSTEOARTHRITIS

Purpose: Osteoarthritis (OA) causes physiologic stress on cells in all joint tissues, including the synovium. Given the critical role that the synovium plays in sustaining the joint, understanding the cellular and molecular processes that occur in the synovium and how they are disrupted in OA is pivotal to determining why the entire joint fails in OA. In OA, inflammation occurring at the level of the joint (synovitis) involves cell infiltration of macrophages from the peripheral blood. These macrophages have both a pro- and anti-inflammatory role upon arrival to the synovium.