[출처: 삼성서울병원]
(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporter Han Sung-gan = Research results show that the antidepressant paroxetine (product name: Paxil) delays cartilage degeneration, the cause of degenerative arthritis.
MedicalXpress reported on the 13th that the research team of Professor Padia Kamal, who specializes in orthopedic surgery at Pennsylvania State University in the United States, discovered this through experiments in mice and in vitro experiments on human chondrocytes.
Prior to the experiment, the research team found that when the expression and action of an enzyme called G protein-coupled receptor kinase 2 (GRK2) is enhanced, it promotes the growth of diseased cells that appear in heart disease and kidney disease.
Degenerative arthritis also occurs due to the pathological growth of chondrocytes called chondrocyte hypertrophy. The process has so far been a mystery.
The research team found that degenerative arthritis is also likely to be a function of the enzyme GRK2. Analysis of the chondrocytes of patients with degenerative arthritis or serious joint injuries revealed that the level of this enzyme was high.
This shows that the enzyme GRK2 plays a key role in degenerative arthritis.
The GRK2 enzyme has been shown to destroy the cartilage matrix that surrounds chondrocytes, rather than replenishing and maintaining chondrocytes.
The research team confirmed this through two experiments. One of them was a mouse experiment.
The research team removed the gene that makes the enzyme GRK2 from chondrocytes of mice modeled with degenerative arthritis.
In another experiment, the research team administered paroxetine, which inhibits GRK2, to mice with degenerative arthritis.
Paroxetine is known to inhibit the expression of GRK2 as a new generation antidepressant of the SSRI (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor) family.
Then, in both experiments, chondrocyte hyperplasia was blocked and the progression of degenerative arthritis stopped, and cartilage regeneration was promoted.
Eventually, the hyperplastic chondrocytes returned to their normal state and the cartilage surface was restored.
The research team found that cartilage hyperplasia and cartilage degeneration were similarly alleviated as a result of culturing chondrocytes obtained from patients with degenerative arthritis undergoing knee joint replacement surgery and administering paroxetine.
Human knee cartilage is a mysterious tissue that is strong enough to withstand weight but soft and supple enough to absorb any impact. It is not so easy to create artificially.
Cartilage, however, has limited ability to heal or repair itself. It is difficult to restore when worn out, overworked, or damaged by injuries with age.
The results of this study were published in the latest issue of Science Translational Medicine, an American scientific journal.
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2021/02/15 09:05 sent