Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42450030›Full record

ReviewInternational journal of molecular sciences2026

Mechanistic Links Underlying the Comorbidity of Osteoporosis and Osteoarthritis: Cell Fate Plasticity Driven by the Subchondral Bone Microenvironment.

Jian Zhang, Bingbing Chen, Qianqian Yang, Heguo Yan, Niqin Xiao, Yundong Xu, Sanjin Zeng, Shengyi Zhao, Rong Wang, He Qian and 3 more

Abstract readReview
In one paragraph

Review in International journal of molecular sciences, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

13 authors.

Jian ZhangThe First Clinical Medical College, Yunnan University of Chinese Medicine, No. 1076 Yuhua Street, Chenggong District, Kunming 650500, China.ORCID 0009-0008-9305-701X
Bingbing ChenCollege of Basic Medical Sciences, Yunnan University of Chinese Medicine, No. 1076 Yuhua Street, Chenggong District, Kunming 650500, China.
Qianqian YangThe First Clinical Medical College, Yunnan University of Chinese Medicine, No. 1076 Yuhua Street, Chenggong District, Kunming 650500, China.
Heguo YanThe First Clinical Medical College, Yunnan University of Chinese Medicine, No. 1076 Yuhua Street, Chenggong District, Kunming 650500, China.ORCID 0009-0005-3165-7763
Niqin XiaoThe First Clinical Medical College, Yunnan University of Chinese Medicine, No. 1076 Yuhua Street, Chenggong District, Kunming 650500, China.ORCID 0009-0002-6254-5658
Yundong XuThe First Clinical Medical College, Yunnan University of Chinese Medicine, No. 1076 Yuhua Street, Chenggong District, Kunming 650500, China.ORCID 0009-0007-1006-0532
Sanjin ZengCollege of Basic Medical Sciences, Yunnan University of Chinese Medicine, No. 1076 Yuhua Street, Chenggong District, Kunming 650500, China.
Shengyi ZhaoCollege of Basic Medical Sciences, Yunnan University of Chinese Medicine, No. 1076 Yuhua Street, Chenggong District, Kunming 650500, China.
Rong WangCollege of Basic Medical Sciences, Yunnan University of Chinese Medicine, No. 1076 Yuhua Street, Chenggong District, Kunming 650500, China.
He QianCollege of Basic Medical Sciences, Yunnan University of Chinese Medicine, No. 1076 Yuhua Street, Chenggong District, Kunming 650500, China.
Zhaohu XieCollege of Basic Medical Sciences, Yunnan University of Chinese Medicine, No. 1076 Yuhua Street, Chenggong District, Kunming 650500, China.
Jing XieCollege of Basic Medical Sciences, Yunnan University of Chinese Medicine, No. 1076 Yuhua Street, Chenggong District, Kunming 650500, China.
Zhaofu LiThe First Clinical Medical College, Yunnan University of Chinese Medicine, No. 1076 Yuhua Street, Chenggong District, Kunming 650500, China.

Funding

China National Natural Science Foundation 82374427Major Science and Technology Special Project of Yunnan Province (Biomedicine Special Project) 202402AA310028Yunnan Provincial First-class Discipline Innovation Research Fund Project of Traditional Chinese Medicine ZYXYB202407
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Osteoporosis (OP) and osteoarthritis (OA) are two common degenerative musculoskeletal disorders associated with aging and are traditionally classified and managed as distinct disease entities. Emerging evidence suggests that OP and OA may share bidirectional associations and common biological mechanisms, and that under specific pathological conditions they may develop into a mutually reinforcing comorbid state. The comorbidity of osteoporosis and osteoarthritis (OP-OA) is not a simple superimposition of bone loss and cartilage degeneration; rather, it represents a disorder of the osteochondral unit centered on disruption of the subchondral bone microenvironment. Alterations in the structural strength, remodeling dynamics, vascular and neural status, and bone marrow lesions of subchondral bone collectively reshape the local microenvironment, thereby directly affecting mechanical signal transmission and cellular behavior within the joint. Focusing on the subchondral bone microenvironment as the central pathological nexus, this review systematically summarizes how mechanical imbalance, aberrant bone remodeling, inflammatory activation, metabolic dysregulation, and cellular senescence jointly remodel the local niche in OP-OA comorbidity. These microenvironmental changes further induce phenotypic remodeling and fate deviation of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells, bone remodeling-related cells, osteoimmune cells, and chondrocytes. On this basis, we integrate the regulatory roles of developmental signaling, mechanotransduction pathways, and inflammatory-immune signaling networks, and propose that microenvironment-driven cell fate plasticity may serve as a key mechanistic hub promoting the initiation and progression of OP-OA comorbidity as well as the persistent destabilization of the osteochondral unit. This perspective may help overcome the limitations of current studies that address OP and OA separately, and may provide a theoretical framework for early identification and stratification, biomarker discovery, and combined precision-targeted interventions for this comorbid condition.

Indexed as

Bone and BonesCell PlasticityCellular MicroenvironmentOsteoarthritisOsteoporosisAnimalsBone RemodelingChondrocytesComorbidityHumansMesenchymal Stem Cellscell fate plasticitycomorbiditymicroenvironmentosteoarthritisosteochondral unitosteoporosissubchondral bone

Identifiers

PMID42450030
PMCPMC13361629

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.