Osteoarthritis, a condition that causes pain and reduced mobility in joints such as the knees and fingers, is one of the most common joint disorders worldwide, particularly among aging populations. The disease is characterized by the gradual breakdown of cartilage, which normally cushions the bones within joints.

Despite its prevalence, current treatments for osteoarthritis mainly focus on alleviating pain rather than addressing the underlying cause of cartilage degeneration. Effective therapies that can halt or reverse cartilage damage remain limited.

A joint research team led by Dr. Chul-Ho Lee and Dr. Yong-Hoon Kim at the Laboratory Animal Resource Center of the Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology (KRIBB), in collaboration with Prof. JinHyun Kim at Chungnam National University Hospital, has identified a key protein, SHP (NR0B2), that plays a critical protective role in cartilage and may offer a new therapeutic strategy for osteoarthritis. The paper is published in the journal Nature Communications.