In very early-stage research, scientists at the Genomics Institute of the Novartis Research Foundation have discovered a small molecule, called kartogenin, that, in a mouse model, promoted increases in the number of chondrocytes and matrix proteins, as well as hyaline articular cartilage restoration. This finding may have positive implications for cartilage repair and symptom relief in patients with osteoarthritis.
Kartogenin was identified using an image-based screen of primary human bone marrow multipotent mesenchymal stem cells, and it was subsequently evaluated on articular chondrocytes, where it was found to promote the formation of the mesenchymal stem cells and be chondroprotective. Johnson K, et al. Science; May 2012