Osteoarthritis of the knee

KneePainMap

Disease IDs: ICD10CM:M17, MONDO:0005416, MESH:D020370, DOID:8398
Sustainable support: MINERVA Platform
Construction tools: yEd Graph Editor, CellDesigner
Contact: Bernd Seilheimer, Heel GmbH, Baden-Baden, Germany, bernd.seilheimer(at)heel.com

Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common form of arthritis affecting middle age to elderly populations. OA is considered a complex disease of the entire joint, including the loss of cartilage, alterations in subchondral bone, deterioration of tendons and ligaments, and various degrees of inflammation of the synovium, eventually leading to joint failure.

One of the symptomatic hallmarks of OA is pain assessed mostly based on its intensity. Paradoxically, structural changes associated with knee OA often not correlate with experienced pain, e.g., high pain intensities are reported despite a low degree of radiological OA and vice versa. Multiple pain phenotypes have been described in the literature, indicating that knee pain is complex and may be influenced by factors that are not unique to the knee joint, including psychological factors and changes in central sensitization.

The map will capture OA mechanisms related to various pain phenotypes and thereby enhance our understanding of painful knee OA. It is expected to build a map containing signalling, metabolic and gene regulatory pathways covering hallmarks of the disease mechanism supported by published evidence, discussed and consolidated with scientific and clinical experts in the field. Our objective is to identify dysregulated networks and possible recovery mechanisms for pharmacological interventions.

Scientific and Clinical Osteoarthritis Expert Panel

	Francis Berenbaum, MD, PhD Sorbonne University, Paris, France Professor of Medicine at Sorbonne University; Researcher at INSERM; Rheumatologist at the AP-HP Saint-Antoine Hospital; Expert in the field of osteoarthritis
	Joyce B. J. van Meurs, PhD University Medical Center Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands Associate Professor of functional population genomics; Expert in molecular epidemiology of osteoarthritis and chronic pain
	Serge Perrot, MD, PhD Hospital Cochin, Paris University, INSERM U987, Paris, France Professor of Clinical Pharmacology, Rheumatologist and Pain Specialist; Head of the Pain Center; Expert in musculoskeletal pain in osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, fibromyalgia and neck/low back pain
	Ana M. Valdes, PhD Nottingham City Hospital, Nottingham, UK Professor in Molecular and Genetic Epidemiology, Medicine and Health Sciences; Expert in Bioinformatics, genetics and the molecular basis of osteoarthritis

KneePainMap Development Team

	Alexander Mazein, PhD University of Luxembourg, Luxembourg Researcher at the Luxembourg Centre for Systems Biomedicine
	Oxana Lopata, MSc Information Technology for Translational Medicine (ITTM) S.A., Luxembourg Researcher
	Marek Ostaszewski, PhD University of Luxembourg, Luxembourg Research Scientist at the Luxembourg Centre for Systems Biomedicine
	Ahmed Hemedan, PhD University of Luxembourg, Luxembourg Researcher at the Luxembourg Centre for Systems Biomedicine
	Andreas Kremer, PhD Information Technology for Translational Medicine (ITTM) S.A., Luxembourg Managing Director
	Reinhard Schneider, PhD University of Luxembourg, Luxembourg Head of the Bioinformatics Core at the Luxembourg Centre for Systems Biomedicine
	Kathrin Weyer, PhD Heel GmbH, Germany Preclinical Project Manager, Department of Medical Affairs & Research
	Andrea Mueller, PhD Heel GmbH, Germany Systems Research Manager, Department of Medical Affairs & Research
	Myron Schultz, MDipH Heel GmbH, Germany Head of Medicine, Department of Medical Affairs & Research
	Konstantin Cesnulevicius, MD, PhD Heel GmbH, Germany Senior Medical Advisor Systems Biology/Systems Medicine, Department of Medical Affairs & Research
	Bernd Seilheimer, PhD Heel GmbH, Germany Head of Systems Research and Development, Department of Medical Affairs & Research

Funding

The project is funded by Heel GmbH.