Patients

OA patients (n = 56) undergoing total hip replacement (THR) surgery at the Royal Orthopaedic Hospital, Birmingham, UK, and Russell’s Hall Hospital, Dudley, UK, were recruited to the study. Patients were divided based on BMI classification into either being of normal-weight (BMI 18.5–24.9, n = 19) or obese (BMI > 30, n = 27). The Kellgren Lawrence (K/L) system was used to classify the severity of OA severity. All patients had K/L grade 3 or 4, as determined by scoring of the patient’s x-ray radiographs by an orthopaedic surgeon prior to surgery. Diabetic patients and those who were taking anti-inflammatories within two weeks prior to arthroplasty surgery were excluded from the study. Informed consent was obtained from all patients prior to sample collection and ethical approval was granted by the Black Country REC (Ref. 10/1202/45). Sample collection, processing, storage and subsequent experimental procedures were carried out in compliance with Human Tissue Authority guidelines under the Human Tissue Act (2004). All patient identifiers were removed from the data and patient demographics are shown in Table 2.

Patient Demographic Data.