Research advance in extracellular cell matrix degradation targets in articular cartilage with osteoarthritis

Osteoarthritis(OA) is an age-related disease and the leading cause of pain and disability, which is characterized by chronic degeneration of articular cartilage. The underlying causes of disease initiation and progression to irreversible cartilage destruction are still unknown. There is currently no effective disease-modifying OA drug(DMOAD). This review mainly summarizes the recent discoveries in regard to the degradation of extracellular cell matrix in articular cartilage.