The discovery made by the team of researchers from Zhejiang University in China in the field of cartilage regeneration could see many people suffering from joint injuries and osteoarthritis regain a lot of hope.
Also, the team under Ouyang has shown that FPH2 is a chemical compound that increases the repair ability of cartilage cells to a much higher level. This work was published in Science Advances this week seeking to highlight the team’s efforts.
Cartilage tissue is one of the organs that have a limited capacity in self-healing and therefore it is very difficult to address touch problems due to injuries to that tissue. Making repairs of such injuries or degenerative diseases is, therefore, rather a very frustrating engagement. At present, after surgeries, restoring up to normal joint function has always been too much to ask, thus leaving the patients to resume with pain and difficulty to move.
FPH2 addressed chondrocytes by exercising their “fitness” level, which are cartilage cells in the body. After FPH2 treatment, enhanced survival, retention of specialized functions, and biosynthesis of ECM, and increased integration with cellular environment, were exhibited by the cells.
In vitro tests of FPH2 treated human cartilage cells showed that these cells were better than non-treated cells. They were healthier and fucntional for greater spans of culturing cycles. Furthermore, treated cells possessed improved resistance towards inflammatory conditions that are harmful toward cartilage.
The compound was assessed in rats that had been inflicted with cartilage injuries similar to that suffered by humans during g. There were positive outcomes as cells treated with FPH2 resulted in the production of cartilage of a higher grade and fared better in absorption into the attached tissues.
Said Dr. Ouyang, “FPH2 is a fast acting, safe and low cost strategy to improve cartilage cells fitness. It is useful especially in the cell therapy for cartilage defect where tis-sue repair is needed.”
Exciting as these results are, the use of FPH2 in human patients is subject to further investigation. The team is planning additional studies to fully understand the long-term effects and optimal use of the compound.
This finding has opened up new avenues for further refinements of restoring cartilage applications and may offer a new approach in the treatment of several joint diseases. This offers a way out of the misery posed by cartilage compromise and degenerative joint diseases for people from all over the world.