On October 4, 2021, Professor Li Ren's research group from the School of Materials Science and Engineering / National Engineering Research Center for Tissue Restoration and Reconstruction, SCUT, published a research paper online entitled "Biomimetic cartilage-lubricating polymers regenerate cartilage in rats with early osteoarthritis" in Nature Biomedical Engineering, making a breakthrough for SCUT in this research field. The paper proposed a biomimetc method to simulate the lubrication of brush-like cartilage with composite nanofibers, which is expected to provide a new strategy for the treatment of early osteoarthritis.

Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common degenerative joint disease, which is caused by cartilage degeneration, injury, obesity or other factors. It is the primary cause for disability of adults. At present, China has the largest population of the elderly in the world. In 2015, the population over 60 years old exceeded 200 million and will double to 400 million around 2033. China will usher in the peak of osteoarthritis patients in the future. Although the symptoms can be alleviated by a variety of treatment methods, there is no effective cure so far.

Based on the mechanism that the realization of the excellent lubricating properties of native cartilage requires the cooperation of synovial molecules to form a lubrication layer on the cartilage surface, the author constructed two brush-like lubrication composite nanofibers, HA/PA and HA/PM, with excellent lubrication performance and biocompatibility from the bionic design of composition and structure.

The author conducted an in-depth research and found that HA/PA and HA/PM nanofibers showed a high affinity for cartilage proteins, formed a lubrication layer on the cartilage surface and effectively lubricated damaged human cartilage, lowering its friction coefficient to the low levels typical of native cartilage. The results proved that HA/PA and HA/PM had an excellent lubrication effect on human cartilage. Furthermore, by injecting two types of nanofibers into rats with surgically induced osteoarthritic joints, it was proved that the lubrication of HA/PA and HA/PM could facilitate cartilage regeneration, reverse the progression of osteoarthritis, and abrogate osteoarthritis within 8 weeks.

The corresponding authors of the paper are Professor Sa Liu, Professor Li Ren and Professor Chuanbin Mao from the National Engineering Research Center for Tissue Restoration and Reconstruction, SCUT. This research has been funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China and the National Key Research and Development Program.

Link of the paper: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41551-021-00785-y

Group photo of Ren’s group: Prof. Li Ren, Prof. Sa Liu and PhD students Renjian Xie, Hang Yao and others