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Correlation of inflammatory mediators with osteophyte formation in end-stage knee osteoarthritis
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  • Published: 27 January 2026

Correlation of inflammatory mediators with osteophyte formation in end-stage knee osteoarthritis

  • Doo-Ho Kim1 na1,
  • Yoon-Seok Youm2 na1,
  • Sung-Do Cho3,
  • Sang-Heon Oh4,
  • Su Jin Choi1 &
  • …
  • Ki-Bong Park4 

Scientific Reports , Article number:  (2026) Cite this article

We are providing an unedited version of this manuscript to give early access to its findings. Before final publication, the manuscript will undergo further editing. Please note there may be errors present which affect the content, and all legal disclaimers apply.

Subjects

  • Biomarkers
  • Diseases
  • Medical research

Abstract

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a prevalent degenerative joint disorder with varying clinical and radiological presentations. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between pro-inflammatory mediators in serum and synovial fluid (SF) and osteophyte size in patients with end-stage knee OA. Forty-four patients (58 knees) who underwent total knee arthroplasty were included. Serum and SF levels of matrix metalloproteinase-1 (MMP-1), interleukin-8 (IL-8), and interleukin-18 (IL-18) were measured using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Radiographic parameters, including osteophyte size, were assessed using on standing anteroposterior knee X-rays. Pearson’s and partial correlation analyses were used to evaluate associations. A positive correlation was found between serum and SF IL-18 levels (r = 0.64, P < 0.001) and between SF MMP-1 and IL-8 levels (r = 0.28, P = 0.03). A significant positive correlation was found between patient age and femur osteophyte size (r = 0.32, P = 0.02). SF IL-18 levels positively correlated with both femur (r = 0.36, P = 0.005) and tibia (r = 0.28, P = 0.04) osteophyte sizes. The partial correlation between SF IL-18 and femur osteophyte size remained significant after adjusting for age (r = 0.3, P = 0.02) and body mass index (r = 0.38, P = 0.003). Elevated SF IL-18 levels were associated with increased osteophyte size in patients with end-stage knee OA, suggesting a potential role for IL-18 in osteophyte formation. Elevated SF IL-18 levels may reflect underlying inflammatory activity in OA and could serve as a potential biomarker or therapeutic target in advanced disease.

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Data availability

The datasets used and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request. And anonymized raw data are attached as supplementary files.

Abbreviations

MMP:

Matrix metalloproteinage

IL:

Interleukin

SF:

Synovial fluid

OA:

Osteoarthritis

TKA:

Total knee arthroplasty

K-L:

Kellgren-Lawrence

IRB:

Institutional Review Board

ELISA:

Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay

BMI:

Body mass index

PACS:

Picture Archiving and Communication System

IBM:

International Business Machine

FOST:

Femoral osteophyte area

TOST:

Tibial osteophyte area

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Author information

Author notes

  1. Doo-Ho Lim and Yoon-Seok Youm contributed equally to this work and are co-first authors.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Internal Medicine, Ulsan University Hospital, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Ulsan, Republic of Korea

    Doo-Ho Kim & Su Jin Choi

  2. Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Samsan Hospital, Gangwon-do, Republic of Korea

    Yoon-Seok Youm

  3. Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Dongcheondongkang Hospital, Ulsan, Republic of Korea

    Sung-Do Cho

  4. Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Ulsan University Hospital, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Ulsan, Republic of Korea

    Sang-Heon Oh & Ki-Bong Park

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Contributions

DH Lee: conceptualization, software, validation, writing—review and editingYS Yeom: conceptualization, methodology, validation, writing—original draft preparationSD Cho: validation, formal analysis, writing—review and editingSH Oh: formal analysis, data curation, writing—original draft preparationSJ Choi: methodology, formal analysis, data curation, supervision, writing—review and editingKB Park: conceptualization, methodology, formal analysis, data curation, writing—original draft preparation, writing—review and editingAll authors have read and agreed to the publication of the finale version of the manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ki-Bong Park.

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The authors declare no competing interests.

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The study was conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki and approved by the Institutional Review Board of Ulsan University Hospital (protocol code UUH-2014-6). Informed Consent Statement: Informed consent was obtained from all participants involved in the study. Written informed consent to publish this paper was also obtained from the patients.

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Written informed consent was obtained from each patient.

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Kim, DH., Youm, YS., Cho, SD. et al. Correlation of inflammatory mediators with osteophyte formation in end-stage knee osteoarthritis. Sci Rep (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-37394-1

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  • Received: 31 May 2025

  • Accepted: 21 January 2026

  • Published: 27 January 2026

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-37394-1

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Keywords

  • Osteoarthritis
  • Osteophytes
  • Serum
  • Synovial fluid
  • Matrix metalloproteinases
  • Interleukin
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