Investigation of articular cartilage degeneration and osteophyte formation in osteoarthritis using smoothened cond I t iona l knockout mice

骨赘形成是骨关节炎的常见现象。软骨内骨化被认为是骨赘形成的重要病理生理过程。我们研究了smoothened（Smo）的缺失是否会抑制小鼠骨关节炎中骨赘的形成，Smo是软骨骨化过程中hedgehog通路的关键成分。在Smo缺失的小鼠中显示骨赘的衰减，表明hedgehog信号传导在骨关节炎中具有关键作用。

Osteophyte formation is a common phenomenon in osteoarthritis. Endochondral ossification is considered an important pathophysiological process for osteophyte fornlation. We investigated whether the deletion of smoothened (Smo), a key component of the hedgehog pathway in the process of enchondral ossification, inhibits osteophyte formation in nlouse osteoarthritis. The attenuation of osteophyte was shown in the mice deleted Smo, indicating that hedgehog signaling has a critical role in the osteoarthritis.