Thrombospondin-2 acts as a critical regulator of cartilage regeneration: A review

Evidence from laboratory and animal studies provides groundwork for understanding mechanisms and potential before human studies continue.

• Level A · Stronger Clinical Evidence
• Level B · Emerging clinical evidence with positive signals
• Level C · Early human research exploring benefits
• Level D · Scientific groundwork from lab and animal studies
• Emerging · Emerging topic under active research

Abstract (original English)

The degeneration of articular cartilage tissue is the most common cause of articular cartilage diseases such as osteoarthritis. There are limitations in chondrocyte self-renewal and conventional treatments. During cartilage regeneration and repair, growth factors are typically used to induce cartilage differentiation in stem cells. The role of thrombospondin-2 in cartilage formation has received much attention in recent years. This paper reviews the role of thrombospondin-2 in cartilage regeneration and the important role it plays in protecting cartilage from damage caused by inflammation or trauma and in the regenerative repair of cartilage by binding to different receptors and activating different intracellular signaling pathways. These studies provide new ideas for cartilage repair in clinical settings.

Evidence level

Evidence from laboratory and animal studies provides groundwork for understanding mechanisms and potential before human studies continue.

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