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Family of cell regulators important to formation, growth of bones and cartilage
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Recently published research has led to a greater understanding of the role that a family of cells known as Maf factors play in regulating bone and cartilage formation, particularly as it relates to the earliest stages of osteoarthritis.
“Maf factors may play important roles in cartilage breakdown in early bone development and as people age, when cartilage starts to break down again,” senior author Dominik R. Haudenschild, PhD, stated in a University of California, Davis press release. His review article, published in Cartilage, gathered the growing body of research about these regulators.
“The more we learn about the genetic regulators that are active during the breakdown process, the more we can understand how to treat osteoarthritis before surgery is necessary,” he stated in the release.
In the review, Haudenschild described how a cartilage model of the future skeleton is formed during fetal development. As development continues, cartilage dissolves and is replaced by bone, with cartilage remaining mainly in the joints. The complicated process is regulated by genetic transcription factors, which control the various enzymes and proteins needed to carry out the steps.
Until recently, research on chondrocytes has focused on the “sox” and “runx” families of genetic regulators, known to be important for cartilage and bone development. Sox9 is known as the “master regulatory gene” for cartilage, while runx regulators are important as chondrocytes turn into bone.
Less well understood is the Maf family. The review described how these regulators are expressed in chondrocytes during late growth at the ends of bones in embryonic cartilage models. Maf-active chondrocytes behave similar to chondrocytes in cartilage that is disintegrating due to the progression of osteoarthritis, according to the release.
“Joint replacement is one of the most commonly performed surgeries in the country,” Haudenschild stated. “Our comprehensive approach to understanding the cellular processes that prevent osteoarthritis can lead to non-surgical therapies that can stop or slow that disease process or even enhance cartilage growth.”
Reference:
- Hong E, et al. Cartilage. 2011; 2: 27-35.
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