Mouse model for arthritic diseases

Arthritic diseases are conditions involving damages to the joints and/or cartilage. Primary forms of arthritis are for example Osteoarthritis, Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and Ankylosing spondylitis. RA is affecting over 21 million people worldwide and has a tumor-like proliferation phenotype.

Challenge

Traditional approaches for treatment of arthritis are typically not suitable for long-term use due to side effect issues. So there is an unmet clinical need for new medications.

Our Solution

Deletion of Ptch1 in chondrocytes results in a severe spinal phenotype. Macroscopic image of litter mates eight weeks after birth.

Volume rendering of in vivo acquired flat-panel volume computed tomography data sets depicting skeletal morphology of control (left) and mutant (right) 6 weeks after birth. Lower panels show bone density.

Scientists at the University of Göttingen have now developed a new animal drug screening model for arthritic diseases, which is caused by dysfunction of the Hedgehog pathway. This is the first non-inflammatory mouse model with an aberrant Hedgehog signalling specifically in chondrocytes, demonstrating the importance of this particular pathway in arthritic indications.

Advantages

Novel non-inflammatory arthritic animal model.
Conditional gene knock-out in chondrocytes.
Dysfunctional Hedgehog signaling causing hyperproliferation of chondrocytes, thus mimicking the known tumor-like proliferation phenotype of rheumatoid arthritis.
Severe arthritic phenotype of spinal ankylosis (spinal malformation) without affecting otherwise normal development.
Good and effective breeding.

Applications

Excellent drug screening model for new targets within Hedgehog signaling.
Efficacy testing of potential new therapeutics for arthritis-related indications.

Developmental Status

Fully characterized new mouse model for arthritic diseases.

Patent Status

No IPR. We are selling/licensing this mouse model.

References

Dittmann et al.: Inactivation of patched1 in murine chondrocytes causes spinal fusion without inflammation. Arthritis Rheumatol. 2014 Apr;66(4):831-40.

Contact

Dr. Stefan Uhle
Patent Manager Life Science
E-Mail: suhle(at)sciencebridge.de
Tel.: +49 551 30724 154
Reference: BioC-1265-UMG

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