Figure 3 Age-related changes in TGFβ signalling in articular cartilage Figure 3 | Age-related changes in TGFβ signalling in articular cartilage. In young, healthy cartilage, transforming growth factor-β (TGFβ) signals mainly via activin receptor-like kinase 5 (ALK5), which stimulates SMAD2–SMAD3 phosphorylation; during ageing, a decrease in expression of ALK5, in combination with stable expression of ALK1 (which mediates SMAD1–SMAD5–SMAD8 phosphorylation), shifts the balance to a higher ALK1:ALK5 ratio. This shift leads to induction of chondrocyte hypertrophy and results in articular cartilage that is prone to development of osteoarthritis (OA). van der Kraan, P. M. (2017) The changing role of TGFβ in healthy, ageing and osteoarthritic joints Nat. Rev. Rheumatol. doi:10.1038/nrrheum.2016.219