Mastication-Induced Electrical Stimulation Activates Prg4+ Chondroprogenitors for Osteoarthritis Therapy - PubMed
an hour ago
- #cartilage regeneration
- #piezoelectrical stimulation
- #osteoarthritis
- Researchers developed 'MagPie', mastication-driven magnesium-incorporated piezoelectric nanofibers, to convert joint loading into localized electrical stimulation and release Mg2+ ions.
- In a rat temporomandibular joint osteoarthritis model, MagPie combined with physiological mastication restored damaged osteochondral units.
- Single-cell transcriptomics identified an electro-sensitive Prg4+ chondroprogenitor-like cell population as key for cartilage regeneration via the ECM-mediated FAK-PI3K-Akt axis.
- MagPie shifted macrophage polarization to an anti-inflammatory phenotype, improving the arthritic microenvironment, and genetic ablation of Prg4 reduced its therapeutic efficacy.
- The study proposes a 'trash-to-treasure' strategy using joint overloading to activate endogenous regenerative programs for osteoarthritis therapy.