Researchers at Chonnam and Inje universities reported a vasopressin signaling pathway connecting hypertension with cartilage breakdown in osteoarthritis. The hormone regulates water balance and blood pressure; its receptor becomes more prevalent in aged or damaged cartilage. The team describes an interaction that activates cartilage-degrading signals and weakens maintenance signals, and plans research into treatments targeting that pathway.
Researchers at South Korea’s Chonnam National University and Inje University reported a biological pathway linking high blood pressure with cartilage breakdown in osteoarthritis. The team, led by Ryu Jehwang and Jeon Jangsu, describes a role for vasopressin, a hormone produced in the brain that regulates water balance and blood pressure. The work was published in Science. Both hypertension and osteoarthritis become more common with age.[1], [2]
Vasopressin is also called arginine vasopressin, or AVP. The hormone is more abundant in people with hypertension. Its cell-surface receptor, AVPR1A, receives the hormone’s signal. This receptor is barely present in healthy cartilage, but becomes more prevalent with aging or injury. Researchers suggest that the increase primes cartilage to interact with vasopressin.[1], [2]
In the pathway described by the team, vasopressin in the blood binds to that receptor. Signals that break down cartilage are then activated, while those that maintain the tissue weaken.[2]
In osteoarthritis, cartilage gradually erodes and bones rub painfully against one another. The condition has long been associated with mechanical wear, and affects nearly 600 million people worldwide. Obesity is a known risk factor for both osteoarthritis and hypertension. The researchers plan further work on treatments targeting vasopressin signaling.[1]
