Molecular Mechanisms of Osteoarthritis and their Potential Clinical Applications

Abstract

The main molecular mechanisms implicated in the appearance of osteoarthritis (OA) are revised in this article: metabolic pathways, long noncoding ribonucleic acids (RNAs), genes, microRNAs and pieces derived from transfer RNA (tRNA), cytokines and chemokines, ADAMTS5(a disintegrin and metalloproteinase with thrombospondin type 1 motif 5), the osteochondral interface, and AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) signaling. Recent studies have shown that some drugs could be of great interest in the future for the treatment of OA. Among them, the following stand out: quercitrin, Xiao Huoluo Pills (XHLP), paroxetine, LINC00473 (long intergenic non-protein coding RNA 473), sprifermin, lorecivivint, angelicin, T-2054 (obeticholic acid derivative), bromelain, magnolin and TDP-43. However, future research is required to confirm the effectiveness and usefulness of the aforementioned drugs from the clinical point of view in patients with OA.