A Johns Hopkins Medicine study published in August 2026 reveals that sensory nerves actively drive the formation of abnormal, rigid "bony bars" after growth plate injuries via pleiotrophin (PTN) signaling. Growth plate injuries affect up to 30% of childhood skeletal trauma and can cause permanent deformities. By treating injured mice with the FDA-approved nerve blocker bupivacaine, researchers altered the expression of over 300 genes and reduced abnormal bone growth by up to 60%, offering a potential therapeutic pathway for human patients.
Sensory nerves in growth plates
- ▪Following a growth plate injury, a rapid invasion of nerve fibers and blood vessels triggers the formation of an unwanted, rigid "bony bar" that can stunt or alter bone growth.
- ▪A study by Johns Hopkins Medicine researchers published in Science Translational Medicine in August 2026 shows that sensory neurons in skeletal tissue actively respond to growth plate injuries and influence the healing process.
Pleiotrophin signaling in bone
- ▪Johns Hopkins Medicine investigators discovered that sensory neurons send signals to launch abnormal bone growth after a growth plate injury via pleiotrophin (PTN) signaling.
- ▪Single-cell RNA sequencing analysis of mice with bone fractures implicated the previously unstudied pleiotrophin (PTN) pathway in nerve-bone interactions.
Bupivacaine treatment outcomes
- ▪Inhibiting TrkA+ sensory neurons with long-acting bupivacaine, an FDA-approved nerve-numbing anesthetic, reduced abnormal growth plate bone growth in mice by up to 60% after 42 days.
- ▪Johns Hopkins Medicine researchers observed parallel mechanisms of abnormal bone growth in human tissue samples obtained from patients who underwent surgery for growth plate injuries.
Growth plate injury epidemiology
- ▪Up to 30% of childhood skeletal injuries affect growth plates, with major falls, car accidents, and sports injuries serving as the leading causes.
- ▪Growth plate injuries in children can lead to long-term deformities, such as limb-length discrepancy, which may require surgical intervention.
Gene expression with nerve blockade
- ▪Inhibiting TrkA+ sensory neurons with a nerve blocker in mice altered the activity of more than 300 genes that were upregulated or downregulated in response to nerve changes.
- ▪The administration of a nerve blocker in mice helped prevent or reduce the expression of genes that prompt the body to regenerate or build nerves, blood vessels, and bones.
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