Artificial Aggrecan prodrugs in the treatment of Arthrosis

Abstract

Arthrosis (OA) is a debilitating disease which increasingly affects the geriatric population. Recent studies have shown that proteoglycan forming cartilage in human tissue is citrullinated in osteoarthritic patients and this could be the cause for the enhanced fragility in the knee joints, leading to fractures and falls. The flexibility of citrulline could be reduced compared to that of arginine as citrulline presents incorporations of rigid nitric elements as well as “condensed” proline atoms, making it resemble a metabolic byproduct of collagen and arginine. In truth, citrulline derives from the activity of multiple enzymes, both aggrecanase and arginase-1. The commentary describes causal involvement of citrullination in OA and also indicates potential therapeutic approaches to how displacing the pathological citrullinated arginine, could help patients with OA.