Amir Kucharski
Program: Molecular Cell Biology
Current advisor: Regis J. O`Keefe, MD, PhD
Undergraduate university: University of Kentucky
Research summary
Osteoarthritis (OA) is a joint disease that restricts motion and activity, increases risk for other health conditions, and costs the American economy billions of dollars every year. There are currently no disease-modifying treatments available; rather, treatment largely focuses on
palliating patients and bridging them to joint replacement surgery. Our work has demonstrated
the importance of epigenetic regulation and metabolic alterations in the pathogenesis of OA,
specifically through a DNA methyltransferase 3B – 4-aminobutyric acid aminotransferase axis
(DNMT3B-ABAT). We targeted this axis with RNA-peptide based nanoparticles (either mRNA or siRNA) and found that either part of the axis could be targeted to successfully mitigate OA pain and tissue changes in a murine injury model.
Graduate publications
Tsen SD, Springer LE, Sharmah Gautam K, Tang R, Liang K, Sudlow G, Kucharski A, Pham CTN, Achilefu S. 2021 Non-invasive monitoring of arthritis treatment response via targeting of tyrosine-phosphorylated annexin A2 in chondrocytes. Arthritis Res Ther, 23(1):265.