Good news! However, this replacement was already discovered in 2019/2020!
"The two ... engineers set out to recreate lubricin, a slippery glycoprotein that keeps healthy knees, hips and shoulders gliding smoothly against each other for a lifetime. When joints are injured or aged, lubricin production drops, friction rises and cartilage begins to wear away, a process that can end in osteoarthritis, a disease affecting more than 32 million adults in the United States.
Now their discovery of a lubricin-inspired polymer has not only resulted in a start-up ... but is also entering into two separate first-in-human trials. The team aims to give patients a synthetic stand-in for a natural lubricant when the body stops making enough on its own. ...
The researchers designed and synthesized a new polymer that matches lubricin’s natural lubricating power on cartilage, and follow-up studies mapped out exactly which parts of the molecule make that possible. ..."
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