Electroacupuncture enhances CSPCs proliferation in an FGFR4-mediated manner to ameliorate osteoarthritis-associated pain and cartilage degeneration - PubMed
3 hours ago
- #Osteoarthritis
- #Electroacupuncture
- #Cartilage Repair
- Electroacupuncture (EA) enhances cartilage-derived stem/progenitor cells (CSPCs) proliferation via FGFR4 to alleviate osteoarthritis (OA) pain and cartilage degeneration.
- EA intervention in OA mice showed upregulation of CSPCs proliferation and activation of the Ca2+/p-CaMKII/STAT3 signaling pathway.
- Targeted inhibition of FGFR4 in CSPCs suppressed the therapeutic effects of EA, indicating FGFR4's critical role in EA's efficacy.
- STAT3 directly binds to the Fgfr4 promoter in CSPCs following EA, promoting FGFR4 expression and CSPCs proliferation.
- The study suggests EA's potential as a novel therapeutic approach for OA by targeting the Ca2+/STAT3/FGFR4 signaling pathway.