# CARTILAGE GROWTH INHIBITOR--BIOLOGICAL STUDIES

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS HLTH SCI CTR HOUSTON · 1987 · $47,638

## Abstract

Somatomedin inhibitors are thought to antagonize somatomedin stimulated
skeletal growth but may also be direct inhibitors of cartilage metabolism.
We have isolated the predominant high MW inhibitor from rat liver; it
produces reversible, dose-dependent inhibition of cartilage growth in
embryonic chicken pelvic rudiment prolonged organ culture.  We have named
this factor "chondrostatin" because it can reversibly inhibit both basal
and serum or thyroid hormone stimulated cartilage growth.  This study is
designed to elucidate the biological and chemical properties of
chondrostatin (CS) and to clarify the mechanism of action of this naturally
occuring growth inhibitor.  We plan to:  1) delineate the mechanism of
growth inhibition by CS utilizing the embryonic chicken pelvic rudiment
prolonged organ culture technique which allows direct measurements of
overall growth of this skeletal organ and which allows study of the
interaction of CS with the other cartilage growth factors through
measurement of proteoglycan, DNA, protein synthesis and tissue histology;
2) define basic biochemical properties of CS through gel-filtration, gel
electrophoresis, ion exchange and high pressure liquid chromotography in
order to enhance our limited knowledge of the chemistry of CS and to
potentially lead to the development of more precise assays; 3) study the
action of CS directly on non-cartilage tissue (muscle and fat) to assess if
it has broad anti-anabolic actions; 4) measure changes in CS levels during
the induction of and recovery from diabetes or malnutrition to evaluate if
poor growth in these conditions correlates with metabolically regulated CS
levels; and 5) compare the potency of different somatomedin inhibitors with
the chicken cartilage assay to obtain direct measurement of inhibitor
effects on overall growth.  The proposed study will provide valuable
knowledge on the regulation of cartilage metabolism and growth.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 3158056
- **Project number:** 5R01AR037326-02
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS HLTH SCI CTR HOUSTON
- **SAM.gov UEI:** ZUFBNVZ587D4
- **Principal Investigator:** RENA VASSILOPOULOU-SELLIN
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 1987
- **Award amount:** $47,638
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 1986-09-01 → 1989-03-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/3158056

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 3158056, CARTILAGE GROWTH INHIBITOR--BIOLOGICAL STUDIES (5R01AR037326-02). Retrieved via MORVS 2026-10-25 from https://api.morvs.ai/grant/nih/3158056. Licensed CC0.

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