eng Oriental Scientific Publishing Company Biosciences Biotechnology Research Asia 0973-1245 2026-05-27 23 2 58968 article Osteochondral Unit Dysfunction in Osteoarthritis: Genetic, Epigenetic, and Hormonal Mechanisms Muthukkuruppan Menaka 1 Annapareddy Bindusha 2 Boyapally Maheshwari Reddy 3 Department of Pharmacy Practice, Faculty of Engineering and Technology, University Institute of Pharmaceutical Technology, Annamalai University, Tamilnadu, India Department of Pharmacy Practice, Joginpally B. R. Pharmacy College, Hyderabad, India. Department of Pharmacology, Joginpally B. R. Pharmacy College, Hyderabad, India. Osteoarthritis (OA) is a common and debilitating musculoskeletal condition that is associated with a progressive degeneration of joints and persistent pain. OA has recently been identified as a whole-joint condition characterized by a coordinated pathological process affecting cartilage, subchondral bone, synovium, and periarticular tissues. There is growing evidence of the importance of subchondral bone remodelling, disrupted joint biomechanics, and molecular crosstalk between bone and cartilage in the pathogenesis of disease. This review summarises about the genetic, genomic, epigenetic, and hormonal variables that contribute to osteoarthritis and more specifically how they selectively control osteochondral homeostasis.A comprehensive literature search was conducted using electronic databases including PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science. Articles published between 2000 and 2025 were screened. Studies focusing on genetic, epigenetic, and hormonal mechanisms involved in osteochondral dysfunction were selected based on relevance and predefined inclusion criteria.There are several variants of the interactions with cartilage matrix and bone remodelling, and inflammatory signaling, which are being identified by genetic studies, and epigenetic mechanisms, such as DNA methylation, histone modifications, and non-coding RNAs are viewed as having a central role in controlling the expression of genes in joint tissues. The skeletal metabolism is further controlled by hormonal factors, including estrogen, parathyroid hormone, growth hormone-IGF-1, and adipokines, which determine the OA susceptibility especially in old age and postmenopausal stages. Besides that, the development of the bone density measurement, such as high-resolution imaging, biochemical biomarkers, epigenetic profiling, artificial intelligence-based imaging, and multi-omics, is broadening the concept of bone quality beyond traditional measures. https://www.biotech-asia.org/vol23no2/osteochondral-unit-dysfunction-in-osteoarthritis-genetic-epigenetic-and-hormonal-mechanisms/

DNA methylation; Epigenetic; Histone modifications; Osteoarthritis; Subchondral bone