Osteoarthritis symptoms linked to the human body clock – new research findings
Osteoarthritis symptoms seem to be intrinsically linked to the human body clock says a study in the Journal of Clinical Investigation, a finding that could pave the way for new drug treatments for the painful joint condition.
Dr Qing-Jun Meng found that body clocks within cartilage cells (chondrocytes) control thousands of genes that divide up different biological activities at different times of the day.
The body clock appears to control the balance between when cartilage cells are repaired during rest and when they are worn down through activity. And as we age, our cartilage cell body clocks deteriorate, making the repair function insufficient, which could contribute to osteoarthritis.
The scientists looked at three types of human cartilage: normal, mildly affected by osteoarthritis and severely affected. They found that as osteoarthritis became more severe, the number of cells that express BMAL1 (a protein that controls the body clock) became less.
When it comes to ageing there is a similar reduction of BMAL1 in cartilage cells, which coincides with the reduced scope of the body clock, supporting the theory that ageing, at least partially through dysregulation of the cartilage cell clock, is a major risk factor for osteoarthritis.
“We’ve identified a link between the human body clock and osteoarthritis,” Dr Meng explains. “This could unlock the prospect of drugs which reset the body-clock mechanism. Scientists are already developing drugs which can act in this way for other conditions. Now, osteoarthritis can be part of this effort.”
People with arthritis can potentially use their body clock to ease symptoms:
“There are also other body-clock related approaches which can help osteoarthritis sufferers,” says Dr Meng. “Eating and exercising at set regular times each day is also something we think is a good idea. Using heat pads that approximate body temperature changes in cartilage tissue – which are too governed by the body clock – are also potentially useful.”
Stephen Simpson from Arthritis Research UK comments:
“Many people with arthritis find that their symptoms get worse at certain times of the day and the results of this interesting and exciting study reveal a likely biological basis to this effect.
“It’s important to understand the role that the body’s circadian rhythm (our inbuilt body clock) has in maintaining healthy joint tissue and how disruptions to this process could contribute to the development of osteoarthritis. An exciting prospect is that it may be possible to use this new information improve treatments and pain relief for the millions of people affected by this debilitating condition.”
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Image credit: Alan Cleaver
