Protein discovery brings hope of new treatments for arthritis and osteoporosis

British researchers have identified a protein that could lead to the development of new treatments for osteoarthritis and osteoporosis.

In normal circumstances, the protein TSG-6 works to maintain a healthy balance between bone formation and bone breakdown. New research led by Dr Afsie Sabokbar from Oxford University and Professor Tony Day of the University of Manchester, has revealed that TSG-6 also protects against inflammation. Furthermore, in the presence of inflammation TSG-6 actively inhibits bone erosion, thus suggesting that it may have the power to stop the excessive erosion that occurs in arthritis and osteoporosis.

The researchers are now investigating the molecular basis of TSG-6 function to evaluate how it could be used therapeutically. “To have a naturally occurring substance that can effectively inhibit bone erosion would be a major breakthrough,” said Professor Day in a news release issued by Oxford University. “We are now scaling up production of TSG-6 for further studies with the aim of producing an optimized form of this protein that can form the basis of pre-clinical and hopefully, in the longer term, clinical trials.”

Mahoney DJ, Mikecz K, Ali T, Mabilleau G, Benayahu D, Plaas A, Milner CM, Day AJ, Sabokbar A. TSG-6 Regulates Bone Remodeling through Inhibition of Osteoblastogenesis and Osteoclast Activation. J Biol Chem. 2008 Sep 19;283:25952-25962.

News release: Protein hope for arthritis sufferers. University of Oxford Website. September 29th 2008.