{
  "abstract": "Osteoarthritis (OA) is increasingly recognized as a whole-joint disease shaped by chronic low-grade inflammation, matrix damage, mechanical stress, and failed tissue repair. Beyond the traditional view of cartilage wear, emerging evidence indicates that immune–chondrocyte ligand–receptor (LR) communication plays a central role in translating microenvironmental cues into disease-relevant chondrocyte phenotypes. In this narrative review, we summarize major immune-derived or inflammation-amplified LR axes that regulate OA progression, including cytokine pathways such as IL-1β–IL-1R, TNF-α–TNFR, IL-6–IL-6R/gp130, and IL-17–IL-17R; chemokine axes such as CXCL12–CXCR4 and CCL2–CCR2; DAMP–PRR pathways involving HMGB1, S100A8/A9, TLRs, and RAGE; and ECM-associated signaling through CD44 and integrins. These axes collectively drive chondrocyte catabolic activation, hypertrophic differentiation, senescence, inflammatory cell death, autophagy dysfunction, and impaired matrix repair. We further discuss how single-cell sequencing, spatial transcriptomics, multiplex imaging, and computational LR inference are redefining OA as a spatially organized disorder of immune–chondrocyte and multicellular joint communication. Finally, we highlight therapeutic opportunities, including receptor-level modulation, macrophage reprogramming, local intra-articular delivery, and LR-axis-based patient stratification. Understanding immune–chondrocyte LR networks may enable precision strategies that suppress pathological inflammation while preserving repair-oriented signaling in OA.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "Department of Orthopedics, The First Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University",
    "Department of Pathophysiology, Shenzhen University Medical School, Shenzhen University"
  ],
  "article_type": null,
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 6,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Ming Liu"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Chenguang Zhong"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Lingyue Yuan"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "Yuqi Tu"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Kunhao Wang"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Wenbo Wang"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/40p3148xdhd47.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.3389/fimmu.2026.1957574",
  "fulltext_url": "https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fimmu.2026.1957574/full",
  "id": "40p3148xdhd47",
  "issns": [
    "1664-3224"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fimmu.2026.1957574/full",
  "language": "en",
  "licence": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "licence_label": "CC BY 4.0",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "lcc",
      "RC581-607"
    ],
    [
      "openalex",
      "2745|Osteoarthritis Treatment and Mechanisms"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7223391484",
  "pdf_url": null,
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-10-23",
  "publisher": "Frontiers Media SA",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/40p3148xdhd47.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:19:17Z",
      "native_id": "10.3389/fimmu.2026.1957574",
      "source": "crossref",
      "url": "https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fimmu.2026.1957574/full"
    },
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T13:43:54Z",
      "native_id": "5e3f9e71a20c4d209792f572f016865d",
      "source": "doaj",
      "url": "https://doi.org/10.3389/fimmu.2026.1957574"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "biology",
      "origin": "issn:1664-3224",
      "subfield": "immunology"
    },
    {
      "field": "medicine",
      "origin": "lcc:RC581-607",
      "subfield": "general"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Immune–chondrocyte ligand–receptor axes in osteoarthritis: microenvironmental control of inflammation, matrix remodeling, and chondrocyte fate",
  "title_text": "Immune–chondrocyte ligand–receptor axes in osteoarthritis: microenvironmental control of inflammation, matrix remodeling, and chondrocyte fate",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T13:43:54Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/40p3148xdhd47",
  "venue": "Frontiers in Immunology",
  "versions": []
}