Osteoarthritis: Prognosis and emerging therapeutic approach for disease management

Osteoarthritis (OA), a disorder of joints, is prevalent in older age. The contemporary cure for OA is aimed to confer symptomatic relief, consisting of temporary pain and swelling relief. In this paper, we discuss various modalities responsible for the onset of OA and associated with its severity. Inhibition of chondrocytes receptors such as DDR2, SDF‐1, Asporin, and CXCR4 by specific pharmacological inhibitors attenuates OA, a critical step for finding potential disease modifying drugs. We critically analyzed recent OA studies with an emphasis on intermediate target molecules for OA intervention. We also explored some novel and safe treatments for OA by considering disease prognosis crosstalk with cellular signaling pathways. This diagram shows the damage of joint due to interference of various factors such as stress signals, mechanical injuries, leptin, gut microbiota disruption, etc. and release of cytokines such as IL‐6, IL‐1β along with metalloproteinase through the expression of DDR2, Leptin, Asporin, and SDF‐1. The inhibitory agents against DDR2, Asporin, and SDF‐1, may play a significant role in the inhibition of pro‐inflammatory cytokines and metalloproteinase implicated in severe joint destruction, and to provide a therapeutic intervention in the osteoarthritis.