{
  "abstract": "Objective: To determine how fibronectin fragment (Fn-f), a matrikine that induces an osteoarthritis (OA)-like phenotype, reshapes chondrocyte states and transcriptional programs at single-cell resolution. Design: Primary human ankle chondrocytes from two cadaveric donors without OA were treated with PBS or purified recombinant Fn-f for 18 hours and profiled by single-cell RNA sequencing. Transcriptional states were characterized by marker genes and functional enrichment, compared with classifications used for OA chondrocytes, and evaluated for Fn-f-dependent changes in abundance and transcriptional programs. Results: Five transcriptionally distinct populations were identified with features that matched previous classifications of effector, inflammatory, pre-hypertrophic/fibrochondrocyte, reparative, and homeostatic chondrocytes. Fn-f markedly redistributed cells among these states, enriching inflammatory chondrocytes while reducing effector and reparative populations. Within transcriptional states, Fn-f differentially altered matrix/cartilage, inflammatory, and stress/immediate-early programs. These responses did not uniformly correspond to assigned subtype identities, demonstrating that transcriptional programs can be dynamically deployed across chondrocyte states. Conclusions: Controlled perturbations of healthy chondrocytes complement observational OA atlases by resolving stimulus-dependent changes in chondrocyte state abundance and transcriptional programs. Discordance between subtype annotations and dynamic functional programs further highlights the need for harmonized definitions of chondrocytes across phenotypic states.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill"
  ],
  "article_type": "New results",
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 9,
  "authors": [
    {
      "name": "S. R. Stuppy"
    },
    {
      "name": "J. Shine"
    },
    {
      "name": "S. D'Costa"
    },
    {
      "name": "J. G. Fernandez Davila"
    },
    {
      "name": "A. B. Yanke"
    },
    {
      "name": "R. F. Loeser"
    },
    {
      "name": "J. D. Burgess"
    },
    {
      "name": "D. H. Phanstiel"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "B. O. Diekman"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/5h9egnfyq3st5.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.64898/2026.09.24.754148",
  "fulltext_url": "https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.09.24.754148v1.full",
  "id": "5h9egnfyq3st5",
  "issns": [],
  "landing_url": "https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.09.24.754148v1",
  "language": null,
  "licence": "CC-BY",
  "licence_label": "CC BY",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "biorxiv",
      "genetics"
    ],
    [
      "openalex",
      "2745|Osteoarthritis Treatment and Mechanisms"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7214929845",
  "pdf_url": "https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.09.24.754148v1.full.pdf",
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-09-24",
  "publisher": null,
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/5h9egnfyq3st5.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:25:19Z",
      "native_id": "10.64898/2026.09.24.754148",
      "source": "biorxiv",
      "url": "https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.09.24.754148v1"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "biology",
      "origin": "biorxiv:genetics",
      "subfield": "genetics-genomics"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Mapping the response of primary human chondrocytes to an osteoarthritis-relevant stimulus by single-cell RNA sequencing",
  "title_text": "Mapping the response of primary human chondrocytes to an osteoarthritis-relevant stimulus by single-cell RNA sequencing",
  "type": "preprint",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:25:19Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/5h9egnfyq3st5",
  "venue": "bioRxiv",
  "versions": []
}