A Feedback Loop Between Chronic Inflammation and Pressure Sensing Drives Osteoarthritis

Researchers here present an interesting view of how chronic inflammation affects cartilage tissue to cause the progression of osteoarthritis. A feedback loop is established between mechanisms of inflammation and mechanisms of pressure sensing, leading to the outcome of cartilage degeneration. Novel points of intervention will no doubt arise as the result of this work, with researchers seeking to break the feedback loop. The best approach still appears to be prevention of the chronic inflammation of aging, given the degree to which rising inflammation contributes to myriad age-related conditions. An unfortunate biological "feed-forward" loop drives cartilage cells in an arthritic joint to actually contribute to progression of the disease. Cartilage is the highly lubricated, low-friction, elastic tissue that lines joint surfaces, cushioning movements and absorbing millions of cycles of mechanical compression. As cartilage breaks down in painful osteoarthritis, the ends of bones can come together bone-on-bone, increasing pain even more. The cells that build and maintain cartilage are called chondrocytes, and on their surface can be found ion channels that are sensitive to force, called Piezo1 and Piezo2. In response to mechanical loads on the joint, Piezo channels send signals into the cell that can change gene activity in that cell. Normally, chondrocytes produce extracellular matrix, the structural proteins and other biomolecules that give cartilage its mechani...
Source: Fight Aging! - Category: Research Authors: Tags: Daily News Source Type: blogs