Projet: Deciphering and targeting cholinergic signalling to treat osteoarthritis

Présentation

Scientific research offers solutions to combat disease with novel treatment options. It is vital to the well-being of humanity, as advancements in medical technology have far-reaching impacts on global health.

Osteoarthritis is a leading cause of chronic pain and disability in older adults, characterised by the loss of articular cartilage that cushions the joint during movement.

This project integrates collaborative research in rheumatology and biomedical engineering to advance osteoarthritis treatment.

It aims to investigate the role of the non-neuronal cholinergic system in osteoarthritis pain and inflammation, as well as to dissect the intertwined neuronal and chondrogenic cholinergic systems in vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) treatment.

Additionally, it will evaluate the database and serum biobank from a randomised controlled trial on VNS treatment in patients with inflammatory hand osteoarthritis.

This project anticipates elucidating the interaction between neuronal and chondrogenic cholinergic signalling proteins in the pathogenesis of inflammatory osteoarthritis, with the vision of developing a novel neuromodulation therapy.

This project is supported by the French National Research Agency (Agence Nationale de la Recherche)/Research Grants Council Joint Research Scheme (ANR/RGC JRS) – 2024/25 Exercise. It is undertaken in collaboration with Prof. Jeremie Sellam, Professor of the Department of Rheumatology of Sorbonne University in France and Dr WEN Chunyi, Associate Professor of the Department of Biomedical Engineering at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University. 

The ANR/RGC JRS aims to strengthen the collaboration between French and Hong Kong research communities.