Sana Sayedipour | 07-05-2026 | Development of innovative therapeutic strategies for osteoarthritis: exploring thermosensitive hydrogels, hiPSC-derived cells and cell-products, and novel drugs in preclinical models This thesis focuses on developing innovative therapeutic strategies for osteoarthritis (OA), a prevalent and disabling joint disease for which no disease-modifying treatments currently exist. The central aim was to [...]

Niek Bloks| 22-10-2025 | Modeling the genetic and mechanical interplay in osteoarthritis: from in vitro systems to mechanistic insights Osteoarthritis (OA) is a multi-factorial degenerative disease of joint tissues in which the etio-pathophysiology revolves around the interplay between genetic and environmental risk factors. In current years, several robust genetic studies have elucidated etiopathophysiological pathways. [...]

Ilja Boone | 17-10-2025 | Exploring senescent chondrocytes during aging: sleeper AGEnts of osteoarthritis Osteoarthritis is a painful, age-related joint disease in which cellular senescence plays a central role. Senescent cells are retained from the active cell cycle and secrete harmful factors that contribute to cartilage degradation and tissue damage. Transcriptomic analysis of cartilage [...]

Ritchie Timmermans | 07-11-2023 | Application of 3D human in vitro osteoarthritic chondrocyte models to study CCN4/WISP1 and Wnt signaling This thesis explores the role of CCN4/WISP1 and Wnt signaling in osteoarthritis (OA) using advanced 3D human in vitro chondrocyte models. OA is characterized by cartilage degeneration and altered chondrocyte behavior, which is not [...]

Margo Tuerlings | 27-09-2023 | The bone and cartilage interplay in osteoarthritis: key to effective treatment strategy Osteoarthritis (OA) is a prevalent age-related joint disease, determined by diverse changes in pathways maintaining articular cartilage and subchondral bone. This thesis aimed to identify and study gene networks driving interacting etiopathophysiological OA processes in cartilage and [...]

Alejandro Rodríguez Ruiz | 22-10-2022 | Osteoprotegerin: a double-edged sword in osteoarthritis development To advance development of effective disease modifying OA treatments, a better understanding of its pathophysiological mechanisms is necessary. By studyinga family with early onset OA and high cartilage mineralization, a likely causal mutation in the TNF receptor superfamily member 11b (TNFRSF11B) [...]

Evelyn Houtman | 22-10-2022 | Aged human osteochondral explants as biomimetic osteoarthritis model: towards a druggable target in osteoarthritis This thesis aims to increase the understanding of human osteoarthritis pathophysiology by developing reliable biomimetic ex vivo human osteochondral explant models and focussing on the role of osteoarthritis-relevant triggers (mechanical stress) and interacting genetic factors [...]

Marcella van Hoolwerff | 06-09-2022 | Dissecting cellular function of fibronectin in osteoarthritic cartilage The aim of this thesis was to combine transcriptomics, genetics and human disease modelling to obtain further insight into molecular processes underlying osteoarthritis. More specifically, we aimed to elucidate the role of long noncoding RNAs expression changes as aberrant epigenetic [...]

Jennifer Meessen | 26-09-2019 | Outcome of osteoarthritis and arthroplasty from patient perspective to molecular profiling With increasing life expectancy, the incidence and burden of osteoarthritis on society increases. Currently, no treatment for end-stage symptomatic osteoarthritis is available and when symptoms become too severe arthroplasty surgery will be performed, replacing the affected joint with [...]

Wouter den Hollander | 29-03-2018 | On the relation between genetic variation and osteoarthritis In dit proefschrift worden de moleculaire mechanismen behandeld die onderliggend zijn aan artrose. Specifiek wordt genoomwijd onderzocht welke genen anders tot expressie komen in aangedaan vergeleken met gezond kraakbeen van artrose patienten. Dit in de context van epigenetische regulatie van gen [...]