Beneficial effects of intra-articular caspase inhibition therapy following osteochondral injury

Intra-articular administration of the caspase inhibitor Z-VAD-fmk effectively blocks chondrocyte PCD following experimental osteochondral injury in this model. Inhibition of chondrocyte PCD rescues chondrocytes that would otherwise die, limiting subsequent cartilage loss. To our knowledge, this study is the first to demonstrate that short-term inhibition of chondrocyte PCD leads to long-term preservation of cartilage in vivo.