AKT1 and osteoarthritis: Similarly to CXCR2 deficiency, SOX9 deficiency in adult chondrocytes does not result in spontaneous OA34 but makes chondrocytes more prone to apoptosis,35, 36 a process that has been demonstrated to drive cartilage loss during osteoarthritis.37, 38 Therefore, we tested whether CXCR2 disruption results in increased chondrocyte apoptosis in an AKT-dependent manner.