Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common form of joint disease. There is currently no treatment to reverse or prevent the progression of OA, with the two main treatment options being either pain management, or ultimately total joint replacement. Therefore, there is a major need for the new therapy proposed in this application. We will explore the potential for delivery of genes using gene ‘carriers’ to improve the existing treatments. Our research group has experience using these gene carriers to manipulate cell behaviour. The specific aims are to determine the best gene carrier for successful gene delivery to cartilage cells and secondly deliver therapeutic genes using the best carrier to cartilage cells in a pellet culture system. In this system, the capability of these gene carriers will be tested in terms of their ability to deliver genes to re-balance cartilage cells to ultimately help in OA.
