Nakamura A, et al. - Researchers assessed if locked nucleic acid (LNA) miR-181a-5p antisense oligonucleotides (ASO) could be used as a therapy to limit articular cartilage degeneration. These findings were the first to show that LNA-miR-181a-5p ASO exhibit cartilage-protective effects in facet joint (FJ) and knee osteoarthritis (OA). In human FJ OA and knee OA cartilage as well as injury-induced FJ OA (rat) and trauma-induced knee OA (mouse) cartilage, miR-181a-5p expression was increased vs control cartilage, associating with classical OA catabolic markers in human, rat and mouse cartilage.