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Osteoarthritis (OA) is a degenerative rheumatic disease that is associated with extracellular matrix degradation and chondrocyte apoptosis in the articular cartilage. The role of mitochondria in degenerative diseases is widely recognized. We undertook this study to evaluate mitochondrial function in normal and OA chondrocytes and to examine age‐related changes in mitochondria.

Mitochondrial function was evaluated by analyzing respiratory chain enzyme complexes and citrate synthase (CS) activities as well as changes in mitochondrial membrane potential (ΔΨm). The activities of mitochondrial respiratory chain complexes (complex I: rotenone‐sensitive NADH–coenzyme Q₁ reductase; complex II: succinate dehydrogenase; complex III: antimycin‐sensitive ubiquinol cytochrome c reductase; and complex IV: cytochrome c oxidase) and CS were measured in human articular chondrocytes …