The surface of articular cartilage contains a progenitor cell population

It is becoming increasingly apparent that articular cartilage growth is achieved by apposition from the articular surface. For such a mechanism to occur, a population of stem/progenitor cells must reside within the articular cartilage to provide transit amplifying progeny for growth. Here, we report on the isolation of an articular cartilage progenitor cell from the surface zone of articular cartilage using differential adhesion to fibronectin. This population of cells exhibits high affinity for fibronectin, possesses a high colony-forming efficiency and expresses the cell fate selector gene Notch 1. Inhibition of Notch signalling abolishes colony forming ability whilst activated Notch rescues this inhibition. The progenitor population also exhibits phenotypic plasticity in its differentiation pathway in an embryonic chick tracking system, such that chondroprogenitors can engraft into a variety of connective tissue types including bone, tendon and perimysium. The identification of a chondrocyte subpopulation with progenitor-like characteristics will allow for advances in our understanding of both cartilage growth and maintenance as well as provide novel solutions to articular cartilage repair

Absolute and Relative Vaccine Effectiveness of Primary and Booster Series of COVID-19 Vaccines (mRNA and Adenovirus Vector) Against COVID-19 Hospitalizations in the United States, December 2021–April 2022

BackgroundCoronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine effectiveness (VE) studies are increasingly reporting relative VE (rVE) comparing a primary series plus booster doses with a primary series only. Interpretation of rVE differs from traditional studies measuring absolute VE (aVE) of a vaccine regimen against an unvaccinated referent group. We estimated aVE and rVE against COVID-19 hospitalization in primary-series plus first-booster recipients of COVID-19 vaccines.MethodsBooster-eligible immunocompetent adults hospitalized at 21 medical centers in the United States during December 25, 2021-April 4, 2022 were included. In a test-negative design, logistic regression with case status as the outcome and completion of primary vaccine series or primary series plus 1 booster dose as the predictors, adjusted for potential confounders, were used to estimate aVE and rVE.ResultsA total of 2060 patients were analyzed, including 1104 COVID-19 cases and 956 controls. Relative VE against COVID-19 hospitalization in boosted mRNA vaccine recipients versus primary series only was 66% (95% confidence interval [CI], 55%-74%); aVE was 81% (95% CI, 75%-86%) for boosted versus 46% (95% CI, 30%-58%) for primary. For boosted Janssen vaccine recipients versus primary series, rVE was 49% (95% CI, -9% to 76%); aVE was 62% (95% CI, 33%-79%) for boosted versus 36% (95% CI, -4% to 60%) for primary.ConclusionsVaccine booster doses increased protection against COVID-19 hospitalization compared with a primary series. Comparing rVE measures across studies can lead to flawed interpretations of the added value of a new vaccination regimen, whereas difference in aVE, when available, may be a more useful metric