An injectable hydrogel therapy (StemJEL) may prevent cartilage loss in patients with osteoarthritis, according to a study published by Ruscitto et al in Cell Stem Cell. Excessive canonical Wnt signaling may be responsible for chondrocyte phenotypic instability and cartilage homeostasis loss in patients with osteoarthritis. In the new study, researchers found that LGR5-expressing secretory cells formed a Wnt inhibitory niche that led to the regulation of chondrocyte lineage and identity—and that ablation or suppression of LGR5 resulted in reduction of Wnt-inactive chondroprogenitors and an increase in Wnt-activated, phenotypically unstable chondrocytes with osteoblast-like characteristics. Additionally, the growth factor sclerostin in the niche of cartilage cells may be critical to forming and protecting the joints. With a combination of hyaluronic acid and sclerostin, an injection of the novel hydrogel therapy to posttraumatic osteoarthritic jaw and knee joints has already proven successful at restoring cartilage homeostasis, preventing cartilage loss, and improving joint functionality in rat, rabbit, and pig models. The researchers concluded that the novel therapy may be capable of preserving the chondrocyte niche and alleviating disease severity in patients with osteoarthritis.