A Michigan Medicine study has identified a new potential target for treating osteoarthritis – a debilitating joint disease that affects over 31 million Americans and is a leading cause of disability worldwide.
A team of researchers led by Tristan Maerz, Ph.D., a biomedical engineer and assistant professor in the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery at Michigan Medicine has uncovered previously unknown cell types in the joint that emerge after an injury and drive the onset of osteoarthritis.
The study “Synovial fibroblasts assume distinct functional identities and secrete R-spondin 2 in osteoarthritis” published in the Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases examined the cellular and molecular events during the onset of post-traumatic osteoarthritis in joints.
By employing a gene sequencing technology called single-cell RNA-sequencing, Maerz and his team were able to uncover these previously uncharacterized cells that emerge in the joint after injury.
The study also described the biological processes that may activate these cells, which offers compelling new targets for an effective treatment.
