Developing a peptide-based treatment of osteoarthritis

Osteoarthritis

Osteoarthritis is the most frequently occurring joint disease and is accompanied by degradation of joint cartilage, loss of joint function and chronic pain. Current treatment is only aimed at managing pain and preservation of mobility, to postpone total joint replacement surgery as long as possible. A real treatment against osteoarthritis does not yet exist.

BMP-7 and peptides

For the protein BMP-7 it has been demonstrated that it delays osteoarthritis progression and prevents osteoarthritis development. However the use of BMP-7 for treatment of osteoarthritis is in danger. To obtain a clinically relevant result, BMP-7 has to be injected in the joint on a weekly basis, which is unacceptable for human use. To safeguard the positive properties of BMP-7 for osteoarthritis treatment, the MUMC+ has developed unique BMP-7-mimicking molecules (peptides) for osteoarthritis treatment.

This project

In this project we will investigate whether we can improve the design of these BMP-7 peptides, how they work and what their effects are on other joint tissues. We also want to know whether the BMP-7-mimicking peptides are able to prevent osteoarthritis in a real joint. If we will be successful, this will be the first experimental osteoarthritis treatment in which the diseased cartilage is treated.