ArticleAging cell2022
Urolithin A improves mitochondrial health, reduces cartilage degeneration, and alleviates pain in osteoarthritis.
Article in Aging cell, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 100 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
100 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 151 citations in OpenAlex.
- Coumarins in musculoskeletal health: a systematic review.Frontiers in nutrition · 2026Pooled it
- International Society of Sports Nutrition position stand: effects of dietary antioxidants on exercise and sports performance.Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition · 2026Review
- Exploring the Neuroprotective Effects of Walnut (International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Article
- Strengthening muscle for healthy ageing: innovative treatments for sarcopenia.Nature reviews. Drug discovery · 2026Review
- Inhibition of cyclin-dependent kinase 8 modulates chondrocyte transition to hypertrophy and provides in vivo protection against spontaneous osteoarthritis.Bone research · 2026Article
- The role of the HB-EGF-regulated EGFR-mitophagy axis in maintaining cartilage homeostasis and osteoarthritis.Journal of molecular histology · 2026Article
- The microbiome-mitochondria axis: the context-dependent role of urolithin A in aging and cancer via mitophagy.Molecular biology reports · 2026Review
- Review
- Potential link between Gordonibacter pamelaeae and phospholipase C gamma 1 in osteoarthritis.AMB Express · 2026Article
- Autophagy activation by urolithin-a derivative UA-36 mitigates Friedreich's ataxia pathologies induced by frataxin deficiency.Molecular biomedicine · 2026Article
- Exploring mitochondrial functions and dysfunctions in chondrocytes: toward the identification of novel therapies for osteoarthritis.Bone research · 2026Review
- Establishment of a Prediction Model to Diagnose the End-stage Knee Osteoarthritis Based on a Significant Difference in Ferroptosis-Related Genes in Chondrocytes.Zeitschrift fur Orthopadie und Unfallchirurgie · 2026Article
- SHP2 suppressed the progression of IL-1β induced cartilage damage via modulating BRD4 associated autophagy and pyroptosis signaling pathway.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Mitochondrial dysfunction at the intersection of alcohol use disorder and chronic pain.Function (Oxford, England) · 2026Review
- IMMT downregulation promotes osteoarthritis development by inducing mitochondrial dysfunction.Journal of orthopaedic surgery and research · 2026Article
- Osteoarthritis: molecular pathogenesis and potential therapeutic options.Signal transduction and targeted therapy · 2026Review
- USP34 attenuates cartilage degradation in temporomandibular joint osteoarthritis by ANT1-mediated mitophagy.JBMR plus · 2026Article
- Targeting mitochondrial quality control in osteoarthritis with GrpE-like 1-loaded synovial mesenchymal stromal/stem cell small extracellular vesicles.World journal of stem cells · 2026Article
- LOXL2 deletion triggers TMJ osteoarthritis, while overexpression protects it from NF-κB-induced chondrocyte apoptosis.International journal of oral science · 2026Article
- Traditional Chinese medicine-derived monomers delay osteoarthritis progression by regulating mitochondrial homeostasis.Frontiers in cell and developmental biology · 2026Review
40 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common age-related joint disorder with no effective therapy. According to the World Health Organization, OA affects over 500 million people and is characterized by degradation of cartilage and other joint tissues, severe pain, and impaired mobility. Mitochondrial dysfunction contributes to OA pathology. However, interventions to rescue mitochondrial defects in human OA are not available. Urolithin A (Mitopure) is a natural postbiotic compound that promotes mitophagy and mitochondrial function and beneficially impacts muscle health in preclinical models of aging and in elderly and middle-aged humans. Here, we showed that Urolithin A improved mitophagy and mitochondrial respiration in primary chondrocytes from joints of both healthy donors and OA patients. Furthermore, Urolithin A reduced disease progression in a mouse model of OA, decreasing cartilage degeneration, synovial inflammation, and pain. These improvements were associated with increased mitophagy and mitochondrial content, in joints of OA mice. These findings indicate that UA promotes joint mitochondrial health, alleviates OA pathology, and supports Urolithin A's potential to improve mobility with beneficial effects on structural damage in joints.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.