Inflammatory cytokines involved in obesity and osteoarthritis

Summary Osteoarthritis (OA) is a most common form of arthritis and is associated with many risk factors, for example, obesity. Inflammatory cytokines have been implicated in facilitating OA progression. This project will use animal models of OA to identify a novel potential therapeutic target(s) for treating OA symptoms (i.e. pain)

Project Details

Osteoarthritis (OA) affects 7% of the global population, more than 500 million people worldwide, with women disproportionately affected. The prevalence and the severity of OA is increasing due to increasing population obesity (a risk factor). Current therapeutic approaches, for example, opioids, mainly manage symptoms (e.g. pain), albeit rather ineffectively, and do not alleviate the degenerative burden of disease (i.e. progression into late stage OA). Improving analgesic management of OA pain with potential to prevent the progression of this disease is thus of critical importance and will directly improve the lives of OA patients worldwide.

Inflammatory cytokines have been implicated in the pathogenesis of OA, particularly in the context of obesity-exacerbated OA. The project will involve a diverse range of experimental approaches, including animal models of OA, pain assessment, histological analysis, and gene and protein analysis, to explore whether a particular cytokine(s) is important for the development of OA and obesity.