Injured cartilage can take a long time for the body to repair, but in 2014 there was a promising study in which scientists made grafts from nasal cartilage cells and placed them in the damaged knee to help it all out.
Launching Newatlas,The scientists started by subjecting the cartilage they engineered to inflammatory factors in a laboratory model of osteoarthritis and in animals.
This included testing its ability to withstand mechanical stress and inflammation by applying it to the knee joint of sheep osteoarthritis, and the results were encouraging.
The scientists found that the engineered cartilage not only stood up well under these conditions, but also actively neutralized some of the inflammatory reactions at play.
Exploring the reasons why, the scientists found a plausible explanation for this effect, related to the unique plasticity and regenerative abilities of nasal cartilage cells.
Also Read:
Stool And Supplementary Fiber Transplant Successfully Treats Metabolic Syndrome
–
–
“This effect could be due to the fact that the molecular signaling pathway, the WNT signaling pathway, is suppressed by the presence of nasal cartilage cells,” Martin said.
“This pathway is chronically upregulated in osteoarthritis and is associated with higher expression of inflammatory factors. Suppressing this pathway may explain the ability of nasal chondrocytes to resist inflammatory conditions.” added
After their successful experiment in animals, the scientists then tested the technique on two young patients with severe osteoarthritis, who received cartilage implants engineered from their own nasal cells.
Both subjects reported decreased pain and improved quality of life, with an MRI scan of one showing that the bone in the knee joint had shifted further, a sign of joint recovery.
“Indeed, we found that engineered tissue from nasal cartilage cells proved robust under inflammatory conditions and even appeared to resist inflammatory reactions,” Martin said.
From here, scientists are looking to conduct large, in-depth clinical trials to test the technology’s efficacy in treating various forms of osteoarthritis that affect other parts of the knee, including patellofemoral osteoarthritis, known as “runner’s knee.”
Also Read:
Genetically Modified Rice Can Be Used for Cholera Vaccine
–
–
Martin told us they were also planning to expand the treatment to address other joints, and had received permission to test it on the shoulder and ankle.
He and the team will also carry out further research on the exact mechanism behind the function of this promising engineered nasal cartilage, in order to understand its ideal properties and which patients are best suited for treatment.
Editor : Good Fit
Writer : Aris N
– .
