Supersulfides contribute to joint homeostasis and bone regeneration

The physiological functions of supersulfides, inorganic and organic sulfides with sulfur catenation, have been thoroughly studied. Cysteinyl-tRNA synthetase (CARS2) is the principal supersulfide-producing enzyme. We investigated the role of supersulfides in joint homeostasis and bone regeneration. We performed a surgical tibia fracture model on the left legs of Cars2AINK/+ mutant mice, where the KIIK motif of CARS2, required for supersulfide production, was replaced heterozygously with AINK, and their wild-type (Cars2+/+) littermates at 12 weeks of age. Two weeks after establishing the fracture model, the soft and hard calluses in the tibia of Cars2AINK/+ and Cars2+/+ mice were collected separately, RNA was extracted, and RNA-seq analysis was performed for each group (n=2)