Stanford study regrows lost knee cartilage by blocking aging-related protein 15-PGDH, prevents arthritis in mice, published in Science
Worn knee cartilage normally never grows back. A Stanford study just regrew it. Blocking an aging-related protein called 15-PGDH restored lost cartilage in older mice and stopped arthritis after joint injuries. Human knee-replacement tissue made new cartilage too. Published in Sc
Worn knee cartilage has long been treated as permanent damage. Once it wears away through aging or osteoarthritis, the body does not naturally rebuild it, and most current options manage pain rather than restore the joint. A Stanford Medicine-led study, published in the journal Science, points to a different approach. The researchers focused on a protein called 15-PGDH, which rises with age and appears to suppress the body's tissue maintenance. In older cartilage, levels of this protein were nearly double those found in younger tissue, tracking with reduced repair activity and more inflammation inside the joint. When the team blocked 15-PGDH in aged mice, cartilage thickness increased across the joint surfaces, and the new tissue resembled healthy hyaline cartilage, the smooth material that lets joints glide. In mice with serious knee injuries, the treatment helped prevent arthritis from setting in. The team also tested human tissue collected during knee-replacement surgeries, and those samples began producing new, functional cartilage when exposed to the treatment. The work remains early. The findings come from mice and laboratory tissue, not from patients, and a joint therapy would need its own clinical testing. The researchers note that damaged cartilage might one day be addressed with a local injection or an oral medication, and an oral version of the compound is already being tested in clinical trials for age-related muscle weakness. Source: Stanford Report and the journal Science.