Humans have the ability to regrow damaged cartilage in their joints “salamander-like”, a new study finds. The researchers are hoping the study will lead to a new treatment for common arthritis.
The study says about the research, “cartilage in human joints can repair itself through a process similar to that used by creatures such as salamanders and zebrafish to regenerate limbs.”
Osteoarthritis is the most well-known type of joint pain and is thought to cause pain in about 8.5 million individuals in the UK. The condition hardens joints and makes them difficult to move.
Now researchers say they have found strong proof that adults can produce new cartilage.
“We like to call it our inner salamander,” said Prof Virginia Kraus, the co-author of the research from Duke University, in North Carolina.
Lizards, axolotl, and different animals with regenerative capacities have a kind of particle called micro RNA, which help manage joint tissue fix. We have micro RNA as well, yet our system for ligament fix is more grounded in certain pieces of the body, the examination found.
“We were excited to learn that the regulators of regeneration in the salamander limb appear to also be the controllers of joint tissue repair in the human limb,” said Ming-Feng Hsueh, Duke professor and researcher in a press release.
The next step is to figure out what regulators humans lack that salamanders have and then see if it’s possible to add the missing components back, said Duke professor Virginia Byers Kraus.
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