ACAN	aggrecan
ADAMTS3	A Disintegrin and Metalloproteinases with Thrombospondin motifs type 3; procollagen N-peptidase
ADAMTS4	A Disintegrin and Metalloproteinases with Thrombospondin motifs type 4; aggrecanase-1
ADAMTS5	A Disintegrin and Metalloproteinases with Thrombospondin motifs type 5; aggrecanase-2
AGEs	Advanced Glycation End Products
BMI	body mass index
BP	biological process
cDNA	complementary DNA
COL1A1	collagen type I
COL2A1	collagen type II
COL11A2	collagen type XI
CRTAP	cartilage-related protein
CT	threshold cycle
CTX-II	C-terminal telopeptide of type II collagen
DAMPs	damage-associated molecular patterns
DEGs	differentially expressed genes
dNTP	deoxyribonucleotide triphosphates
ECM	extracellular matrix
GEO	The Gene Expression Omnibus
GLUT-1	Glucose Transporter Type 1
GO	Gene Ontology
HAPLN1	hyaluronan-proteoglycan-linking protein 1
HPRT1	hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyltransferase
IFP	infrapatellar fat pads
IL-1β	interleukin-1β
IQR	Interquartile range
KOOS	Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score
MATN1	matrilin-1
MF	molecular functions
MPC	mesenchymal progenitor cell
MSC	mesenchymal stem cells
NIDDM	non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus
NF-kB	nuclear factor-kB
OA	osteoarthritis
OARSI	Osteoarthritis Research Society International
PCR	polymerase chain reaction
PPI	Protein–Protein Interaction
PRG4	proteoglycan 4
rho	Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient
RI	Rnase inhibitor
ROS	Reactive oxygen species
RT	reverse transcription
RQ	relative expression
sCOMP	Serum Cartilage Oligomeric Matrix Protein
SCX	transcription factor scleraxis
TGF-β	Transforming Growth Factor β
WOMAC	Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Arthritis Index