Spur for New Joint Cartilage

While a drug for septic arthritis would be good, a treatment to restore cartilage damaged by injury or osteoarthritis would be even better. Researchers at several institutions said this week that they had hit on a new strategy, involving a small-molecule agent called kartogenin.

Using high-throughput screening, the group identified the compound as a potent promoter of chondrocyte differentiation in vitro.

Moreover, intra-articular injection of the drug in mice with chronic or acute joint injuries led to regeneration in the cartilage matrix, increases in biomarkers of cartilage growth, reduced pain, and improved function, according to the group’s online report in Science.

Kartogenin appears to work by modulating members of the so-called runt family of transcription factors, the researchers indicated.

- J.G.

By MedPage Today Staff