Logintudinal Associations Between Serum Levels Of Oxylipins And Knee Injury And Osteoarthritis Scores In Healthy Young Adults With Acute Knee Injury

Purpose: Acute knee injuries, including intra-articular ligament ruptures such as of the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), acute meniscal tears and intra-articular fracture, can lead to chronic knee pain and are a major risk factor for osteoarthritis (OA). Typically, mechanistic knee pain studies focus on events at diagnosis of idiopathic knee OA, which is typically associated with older age and higher rates of comorbidities. Despite being a major risk factor for OA, the molecular mechanisms that initiate and drive the transition from acute knee injury to chronic pain and OA pathology are poorly understood. The oxylipins are a distinct class of bioactive lipids derived from omega-3 and omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), and play a fundamental role in the regulation of the inflammatory response, from initiation to resolution through lipid mediatory class switching. The aims of this study were i) to quantify serum levels of oxylipins longitudinally following acute knee injury in young adults from the Knee Injury Cohort at the Kennedy (KICK) and compare these levels to those of healthy age- and sex-matched controls; and ii) to investigate potential associations between serum oxylipin levels and Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Scores (KOOS) at each timepoint.