Immunology & Immune System

Abstract

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a pro-infl ammatory, degenerative disease of the joints. Since the osteoarthritis risk pro le overlaps with that of other lifestyle-related diseases, such as obesity, type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), or cardiovascular disease, a ected individuals are often multi-morbid. Physical activity has been demonstrated to be a valuable preventive and therapeutic tool in OA and also in almost all other lifestyle-related diseases. us, a ected individuals might bene t from an exercise program in multiple respects. To monitor e cacy of such training interventions, a set of reliable biomarkers, preferentially such that can be assessed from easily accessible biological uids, in particular urine or blood, would be desirable.In this short review, we give an overview of potential blood and urine biomarkers that might be used to monitor e cacy of exercise interventions in osteoarthritis patients, with a speci c focus on multi-morbidity. Currently, the most-extensively studied markers are in ammation-related factors, such as C-reactive protein (CRP) or interleukin-6 (IL-6), but also metabolic markers, for example the adipokines adiponectin, leptin, and resistin, and products of cartilage decay, such as C-telopeptide of type II collagen (CTX-II), or cartilage oligomeric protein (COMP). Finally, recent studies also point to circulating microRNAs (miRNAs) as potential biomarkers in OA, suggesting that they might also have the potential to be studied in the context of training interventions. KEY WORDS: Degenerative Joint Disease, Lifestyle-Related Diseases, Physical Activity, Blood and Urine Markers