Email:
kbking@itsa.ucsf.edu

Bio-sketch

Karen King, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor

Dr. Karen King is a faculty member in the Department of Medicine at the University of California at San Francisco in the Division of Occupational and Environmental Medicine. She is a faculty member of the Bioengineering Graduate Group and a faculty member of the Center for Occupational and Environmental Health. Dr. King belongs to the following research societies: Osteoarthritis Research Society (ORS), American Society for Matrix Biology (ASMB), International Society for Matrix Biology (ISMB), and Osteoarthritis Research Society International (OARSI).

RESEARCH PROGRAM

My research program is focused on the relationships between biomechanical factors and the cellular and molecular responses of musculoskeletal tissues. The major research activity is the development and use of an experimental rabbit model for degenerative joint disorders. The significance of this animal model is that no other in vivo model exists for determining the relative importance of individual biomechanical factors of repetitive joint flexion and loading. In addition, I study the early stages of disease development including structural, biochemical, and metabolic changes. From such studies improved diagnostics, work interventions, and therapeutic interventions can be developed.

PAST AND PRESENT FUNDING SUPPORT

CDC/NIOSH
Arthritis Foundation
COEH

LINKS

UCSF/UCB Bioengineering Graduate Group
http://bioeng.berkeley.edu/graduate/index.html

Center for Occupational and Environmental Health
http://coeh.berkeley.edu/

Osteoarthritis Research Society (ORS)
http://www.ors.org/

American Society for Matrix Biology (ASMB)
http://www.asmb.net/

International Society for Matrix Biology (ISMB)
http://www1.elsevier.com/homepage/sah/matrix/doc/ismb.htm

Osteoarthritis Research Society International (OARSI)
http://www.oarsi.org/

CDC/NIOSH
http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/homepage.html

Arthritis Foundation
http://www.arthritisfoundation.org/research/default.asp

PUBLICATIONS

KB King, S Chubinskaya, DL Reid, LH Madsen, and J Mollenhauer. Absence of cell-surface annexin V is accompanied by defective collagen matrix binding in the Swarm rat chondrosarcoma. Journal of Cellular Biochemistry. 65:131-144, 1997.

J Mollenhauer, MT Mok, KB King, M Gupta, S Chubinskaya, H Koepp, and AA Cole. Expression of anchorin CII (cartilage annexin V) in human young, normal adult, and osteoarthritic cartilage. Journal of Histochemistry and Cytochemistry. 47:209-220, 1999.

L Jennings, L Wu, KB King, H Hämmerle, G Cs-Szabo, and J Mollenhauer. The effects of collagen fragments on the extracellular matrix metabolism of bovine and human chondrocytes. Connective Tissue Research. 42:71-86, 2001.

D Heinegård, K King, M Mörgelin, K Rosenberg, and C Wiberg. Matrix molecules with roles in cartilage assembly. In: Molecular Biology in Orthopaedics. RN Rosier and CH Evans, editors. American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, Rosemont, IL, pp. 315-325, 2003.

KB King and JH Kimura. The establishment and characterization of an immortal cell line with a stable chondrocytic phenotype. Journal of Cellular Biochemistry. 89:992-1004, 2003.

SELECTED ABSTRACTS

K King and D Rempel. An animal model for tendinosis of the elbow (epicondylitis). Abstracts of the XVIIth Meeting of the Federation of the European Connective Tissue Societies. Patras, Greece, July 1-5, 2000, L6.

KB King and DM Rempel. Cyclical loading in a rabbit finger flexor model produces structural changes in the elbow similar to tendinosis. ECM2000: International Conference on the Biology & Pathology of the Extracellular Matrix. St. Louis, MO, October 12-15, 2000, C63.

D Rempel, K King, J Robertsson, LB Dahlin, and S Abrahmsson. An in vivo model for entrapment neuropathy due to repeated finger loading. Trans. Orthop. Res. Soc. 47:734, 2001.

K King, D Mun, F Shao, E Diao, and D Rempel. Experimental induction of carpal tunnel syndrome: evaluation of tenosynovium. Trans. Orthop. Res. Soc. 48:870, 2002.

N Gundiah, K Dao, K King, and L Pruitt. Determination of elastin and collagen content in porcine aorta. The IVth World Congress of Biomechanics in Calgary, Alberta. August 4-9, 2002.

K King, L Nakama, A Reza, and D Rempel. Type III collagen in a model of elbow tendinosis. The 1st Meeting of the American Society for Matrix Biology, Houston, TX, November, 6-9, 2002, #99.

DM Ebenstein, K King, and L Pruitt. A nanoindentation technique for measuring mechanical properties of finger joint cartilage. Trans. 29th Annual Meeting of the Society for Biomaterials, Reno, NV, April 30 – May 3, 2003, 718.

C Opel, A Portnoy, and K King. Analysis of an animal model studying the mechanobiology of joint loading. 2003 UC Systemwide Biomedical Engineering Symposium, San Diego, CA, June 22-23, 2003.

C Li, DM Ebenstein, K King, and LA Pruitt. Nanoindentation of finger joint cartilage in a fluid cell.
Trans. Orthop. Res. Soc. 50:539, 2004.

LH Nakama, KB King, and DM Rempel. The localization of vascular endothelial growth factor in a repetitively loaded tendon in vivo: an immunohistological study. Trans. Orthop. Res. Soc. 50:860, 2004.