Advances in understanding cartilage remodeling [ version 1 ; referees : 2 approved ]

Cartilage remodeling is currently among the most popular topics in osteoarthritis research. Remodeling includes removal of the existing cartilage and replacement by neo-cartilage. As a loss of balance between removal and replacement of articular cartilage develops (particularly, the rate of removal surpasses the rate of replacement), joints will begin to degrade. In the last few years, significant progress in molecular understanding of the cartilage remodeling process has been made. In this brief review, we focus on the discussion of some current “controversial” observations in articular cartilage degeneration: (1) the biological effect of transforming growth factor-beta 1 on developing and mature articular cartilages, (2) the question of whether aggrecanase 1 (ADAMTS4) and aggrecanase 2 (ADAMTS5) are key enzymes in articular cartilage destruction, and (3) chondrocytes versus chondron in the development of osteoarthritis. It is hoped that continued discussion and investigation will follow to better clarify these topics. Clarification will be critical for those in search of novel therapeutic targets for the treatment of osteoarthritis. Yefu Li ( ) Corresponding author: [email protected] Li Y and Xu L. How to cite this article: Advances in understanding cartilage remodeling [version 1; referees: 2 approved] F1000Research 2015, (F1000 Faculty Rev):642 (doi: ) 4 10.12688/f1000research.6514.1 © 2015 Li Y and Xu L. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the , which Copyright: Creative Commons Attribution Licence permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. The author(s) declared that no grants were involved in supporting this work. Grant information: Competing interests: The authors declare that they have no competing interests. 28 Aug 2015, (F1000 Faculty Rev):642 (doi: ) First published: 4 10.12688/f1000research.6514.1 1,2