To complement the genetic studies we determined whether pharmacological inhibition with imatinib mesylate (imatinib), a drug that potently inhibits several receptor tyrosine kinases, including c-kit (Juurikivi et al., 2005), a crucial factor for mast cell growth and survival, would be effective in limiting the development of osteoarthritis in wild-type mice. Here, NTRK1 is linked to osteoarthritis.