Chronic Shoulder Pain 'Hoijeonggeun Gijilwan' Rotator Cuff Disease, World's First Discovery of Drug Treatment Method

Seoul National University Professor Kim Jin-hong Research Team

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bong-su] Domestic researchers have developed a method to treat rotator cuff disease, a major cause of shoulder pain, with medication instead of conventional surgery for the first time in the world.

Seoul National University announced on the 23rd that Professor Jin-Hong Kim's research team from the Department of Life Sciences has found a clue to treating rotator cuff disease using antibody therapeutics.

Rotator cuff disease accounts for a high proportion of diseases causing shoulder pain. Rotator cuff disease refers to the degeneration and gradual damage of the rotator cuff, which collectively refers to the four tendons surrounding the shoulder, eventually leading to tendon rupture. Patients often confuse it with frozen shoulder and miss the optimal treatment period. As degenerative changes progress, the rotator cuff weakens and can be damaged even by minor impacts, so extra caution is needed especially in the elderly.

There are no drugs for fundamental treatment of rotator cuff disease, and treatment is done through surgery to connect the torn tendons. However, degeneration continues in the tissue around the suture, causing re-tearing of the tendon. Therefore, developing drugs that can restore the properties of degenerating tissue is a breakthrough for treating the disease.

The research team identified the key cytokine inducing tissue degeneration and proposed a target for restoring degenerated tissue for the first time in the world. Using a database of patients with tendon disease and animal models, they identified CTRP3 as a new therapeutic target factor that induces tissue damage and rupture.

They also found that increased CTRP3 in patients promotes abnormal differentiation of stem cells present in the tissue, changing the properties of tendon tissue and inducing tissue degeneration. Since CTRP3 is a cytokine secreted outside the cell, the researchers utilized this advantage to inhibit the factor using CTRP3-specific antibodies and confirmed tissue recovery. They confirmed not only molecular-level alleviation but also recovery of the tissue's physical properties, histological characteristics, and the mobility of experimental animals. This presents the first therapeutic strategy to restore damaged tendon tissue.

The research team explained that this is significant as it proposes the first treatment method for rotator cuff disease, which previously had none. They discovered a new factor inducing tendon tissue degeneration, and the treatment effects were visibly significant at molecular, tissue, and behavioral levels, presenting a practical disease treatment strategy. Furthermore, considering that the discovered factor (CTRP3) is secreted outside the cell, it is much easier to target than proteins inside the cell, making it a promising effective therapeutic target.

Professor Kim said, "Based on these research results, we are developing antibodies for patient treatment and will strive to expedite the practical use of drug therapy for rotator cuff disease. It is expected to contribute to non-invasive treatment methods for tendon diseases, which has great clinical significance."

The research results were published on the 19th in the international journal Science Advances.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.