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SUMMARY:A physicists perspective on osteoarthritis: From hydration lubrica
 tion to gene regulation - Jacob Klein\, Weizmann Institute\, Rehovot\, Isr
 ael 
DTSTART:20171129T160000Z
DTEND:20171129T170000Z
UID:TALK96313@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Leona Hope-Coles
DESCRIPTION:The major mammalian joints such as hips or knees are uniquely-
 efficient tribological systems. In health\, the articular cartilage coatin
 g them presents the most remarkably lubricated surfaces known in nature. T
 hey can slide past each other with friction coefficients down to  0.001 or
  lower under pressures of 100 atmospheres or more at sliding velocities fr
 om rest to several cm/second (shear rates ca. 1 – 106 sec-1)\, and they 
 do this over a lifetime. No man-made surfaces can approach this. But when 
 this lubrication breaks down\, the result can be degradation of the articu
 lar cartilage\, and onset of osteoarthritis (OA)\, a debilitating joint di
 sease affecting millions (some 6M in the UK alone). An understanding of th
 e molecular origins and the physics of the very efficient lubrication at t
 he cartilage surface is thus essential for better treatments of OA.\n\nThe
  talk will describe recent breakthoughs in our understanding of cartilage 
 friction based on the emergent hydration lubrication paradigm. In this mec
 hanism\, water molecules in hydration shells just a few Å thick can massi
 vely reduce frictional dissipation between sliding surfaces. The roles of 
 lubricin\, hyaluronic acid and phospholipids – crucial lubricating compo
 nents of the joints – in enabling such lubrication is considered. In par
 ticular\, the effect of the low friction not only on the wear and tear of 
 the cartilage but especially on shear of the chondrocyte cells embedded wi
 thin it\, and the ensuing mechanotransductive effects on gene regulation\,
  is emphasized as part of the underlying picture for the well-being of the
  joints arising from their tribological properties\n
LOCATION:Cavendish Laboratory\, Pippard Lecture Theatre\,
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