Linking Intra-Articular Inflammatory Biomarkers with Peripheral and Central Sensitization in Late-Stage Knee Osteoarthritis Pain: A Pilot Study

Background/Objectives: To investigate if intra-articular biomarkers relate to peripheral and central sensitization in patients with late-stage knee osteoarthritis (KOA). Methods: A total of 17 (6M, 11F) patients (aged 69 ± 10 years) were assessed for peripheral (pressure pain thresholds (PPT)) and central (temporal summation (TS) and conditioned pain modulation (CPM)) sensitization the day before total knee arthroplasty. Synovial fluid was collected during surgery and assayed for IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, TNF-α, CXCL-10, BDNF, NGF, CCL2, CCL5, VEGF, IL-1RI, MMP-1, MMP-7, IL-1β, and CXCL-9. Associations of biomarkers and their combinations reflecting chronic (CXCL-9) and acute ((CCL2×CXCL-10)/IL-10)) inflammation, cartilage degeneration (MMP-1×MMP-7), and neurotrophy (NGF×BDNF) with PPT, TS, and CPM were analyzed by bivariate correlations and by multiple linear regression analyses corrected for BMI, sex, and age. Results: The medial joint line and the superior medial joint region showed the lowest PPT. Higher acute inflammation related significantly to worse pressure tenderness at the superior medial joint region (R2 = 0.642; p = 0.010). Cartilage degeneration and chronic inflammation were associated with both absolute (R2 = 0.827; p = 0.001) and relative CPM (R2 = 0.882; p < 0.001). Acute inflammation and neurotrophy were related to relative TS at the m. tibialis anterior (R2 = 0.728; p = 0.02). Conclusions: This study demonstrates that increased levels of intra-articular biomarkers of acute inflammation are related to peripheral sensitization and that biomarkers of cartilage degeneration and chronic inflammation are associated with central sensitization. These results may be a stepping-stone toward a better understanding of the working mechanism of peripheral and central sensitization in KOA pain and the development of more targeted therapeutic interventions.