Several studies have assessed the association between GDF5rs143383 polymorphism and the susceptibility of musculoskeletal degenerative diseases, such as intervertebral disc degeneration (IDD) and osteoarthritis (OA), but the results are inconsistent.
To construct a recombinant adenovirus vector-carrying human growth and differentiation factor-5 (GDF-5) gene, investigate the biological effects of adenovirus-mediated GDF-5 (Ad-GDF-5) on extracellular matrix (ECM) expression in human degenerative disc nucleus pulposus (NP) cells, and explore a candidate gene therapy method for intervertebral disc degeneration (IDD).
On the basis of the available evidence to date, GDF-5 may hold promise as a possible therapeutic agent for applications involving tendon/ligament repair as well as perhaps intervertebral disk degeneration, cartilage repair, and bone augmentation, although further detailed interventional studies will be required to investigate these potential applications.