Chemokines and inflammation in osteoarthritis: Insights from patients and animal models

Evidence has been building that the pathologic drive for development of osteoarthritis (OA) involves more than simple mechanical “wear and tear.” Inflammatory mechanisms play an important role in the tissue response to joint injury, and are involved in development of post‐traumatic OA. Inflammation also appears integral to the progression of OA, whether post‐traumatic or spontaneous, contributing to the evolution of joint tissue degradation and remodeling as well as joint pain. Both patient‐based studies and in vivo models of disease have shed light on a number of inflammatory pathways and mediators that impact various aspects of this disease, both structurally and symptomatically. Recent work in this field has implicated inflammatory chemokines in osteoarthritis pathogenesis. Expression of multiple chemokines and their receptors is modulated during disease in both patients and animal models. Although best known for their effects on leukocyte migration and trafficking within the immune system, chemokines can have a wide variety of effects on both motile and non‐motile cell types, impacting proliferation, differentiation, and activation of cellular responses. Their role in OA models has also demonstrated diverse effects on disease that exemplify their wide‐ranging effects. Understanding how these important mediators of inflammation impact joint disease, and whether they can be targeted therapeutically, is actively being investigated by many groups in this field. This narrative review focuses on evidence published within the last 5 years highlighting chemokine‐mediated pathways with mechanistic involvement in osteoarthritis and joint tissue repair.