Study of physical therapy intervention in a rat model of non-surgical focal knee cartilage compression injury

2023 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 21H03302
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (B)
• Allocation Type: Single-year Grants
• Section: 一般
• Review Section: Basic Section 59010:Rehabilitation science-related
• Research Institution: Kyoto University
• Principal Investigator: Ito Akira 京都大学, 医学研究科, 講師 (50762134)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): 黒木 裕士 京都大学, 医学研究科, 教授 (20170110) ; 西谷 江平 京都大学, 医学研究科, 助教 (70782407)
• Project Period (FY): 2021-04-01 – 2024-03-31
• Keywords: 変形性関節症 / 理学療法 / リハビリテーション / ラット / 関節軟骨 / 細胞移植

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Physiotherapy intervention has been the first option for the treatment of knee osteoarthritis (knee OA). However, their effect on knee OA pathology remains unclear. To address this, the present study examined the effects of spontaneous running exercise on a rat model of non-surgical focal knee cartilage compression injury. The results suggest that spontaneous running exercise intervention after compression injury does not inhibit but does not contribute to articular cartilage degeneration. As an exploratory experiment to investigate the combined effects of exercise intervention and cell transplantation treatment, an intra-articular transplantation experiment of mesenchymal stem cells was conducted. The results showed that cell transplantation treatment significantly suppressed articular cartilage degeneration. In the future, the synergistic effect of exercise intervention and cell transplantation treatment is expected to be verified.

Free Research Field

理学療法学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

非外科的局所膝関節軟骨圧迫損傷モデルの長期的な病態について解析することで、膝OAの発症・進行機序の理解につながり、理学療法介入の標的候補分子を探索できる。本モデル動物がヒトで観察されるような長期的な膝OA発症表現型を呈するユニークなモデルと成り得ることを示唆したことは、これまで解明されていない早期膝OAの病態解明の強力なツールとなることが期待され、その学術的意義は高い。さらに、2,500万人を超えるとされる膝OA患者の発症予防・遅延を実現する手段としての細胞移植治療効果を示したことは、社会的および経済的な意義が高いと言える。