Removal of selective cells may delay joints pain

New Delhi : Removal of selective cells that accumulates in our body as we age have a positive effect in delaying the joint pains, a research has found.

Published in the journal Nature Medicine, the research suggests that when selective Senescent cells (SnCs) were removed from the joints, the development of post-traumatic osteoarthritis was also delayed.

SnCs accumulate with age in many vertebrate tissues and are present at sites of age-related pathology. The cells are helpful in healing wounds but mostly they get stuck in knees, resulting in the development of osteoarthritis.

They may also promote cancer incidence in tissues, the researchers said. 

The study may provide new insights into therapies targeting SnCs for the treatment of trauma and age-related degenerative joint disease, said Chaekyu Kim from the Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST) in South Korea.

For the study, the team took both younger and older mice and cut their anterior cruciate ligaments (ACL) to minic injury. They, then, administered injections of an experimental drug, named UBX0101 to selectively remove SnCs after anterior cruciate ligament transection (ACLT) surgery.

(With Agency inputs)