Osteoarthritis Treatment Breakthrough: Drug Combo Reverses Arthritis in Animal Study

An animal study published in Protein & Cell has yielded a combination of two experimental drugs that reverses the cellular and molecular symptoms of osteoarthritis in both rats and isolated human cartilage cells, reports SciTechDaily . "This is potentially a therapy that can be translated to the clinic quite easily," said Professor Juan Carlos Izpisua Belmonte at the Salk Institute's Gene Expression Laboratory. The combined alpha-KLOTHO and TGF beta receptor 2 molecules were administered to young, otherwise healthy rats with osteoarthritis. After six weeks, rats that had received the control particles had more severe osteoarthritis in their knees and disease progression. Those that received the drug combination exhibited thicker cartilage, fewer dying cells, and actively spreading cells — and a reversion of disease progression and no negative side effects. Treatment of isolated human articular cartilage cells with the same formula caused levels of molecules involved in cell proliferation, extra-cellular matrix formation, and cartilage cell identity to increase. "That's not the same as showing how these drugs affect the knee joint in humans, but we think it's a good sign that this could potentially work for people," noted Salk's Paloma Martinez-Redondo.