Increased thymosin β4 levels in the serum and SF of knee osteoarthritis patients correlate with disease severity

Wei M, Duan D, Liu Y, et al. · Regulatory Peptides

Endogenous thymosin β4 was higher in OA patients and highest in the most severe (KL grade 4) knees — an association consistent with TB4 rising in damaged joints, not evidence that adding more helps.

Population

216 knee OA patients vs 152 healthy controls

Intervention

None — observational biomarker comparison

Comparator

Healthy controls

Limitations

Cross-sectional; cannot distinguish protective response from harmful driver.