Topic:Articular Cartilage
Articular cartilage in horses is a specialized connective tissue found at the ends of bones within joints. It provides a smooth, lubricated surface for articulation and facilitates the transmission of loads with a low frictional coefficient. Articular cartilage is primarily composed of chondrocytes, collagen fibers, and proteoglycans, and it lacks blood vessels, nerves, and lymphatics. This avascular nature contributes to its limited capacity for self-repair following injury. The health and integrity of articular cartilage are essential for maintaining joint function and mobility in horses. This page compiles peer-reviewed research studies and scholarly articles that explore the structure, function, and pathological changes of articular cartilage in equine species, as well as advancements in diagnostic and therapeutic approaches for cartilage-related disorders.
Investigation of an injectable gold nanoparticle extracellular matrix. Post-traumatic osteoarthritis (PTOA) is a progressive articular degenerative disease that degrades articular cartilage and stimulates apoptosis in chondrocyte cells. An injectable decellularized, extracellular matrix (ECM) scaffold, that might be able to combat the effects of PTOA, was developed where the ECM was conjugated with 20 nm gold nanoparticles (AuNP) and supplemented with curcumin and hyaluronic acid (HA). Porcine diaphragm ECM was decellularized and homogenized; AuNPs were conjugated using chemical crosslinking followed by mixing with curcumin and/or HA. Injection force testing and...
A threshold volume of 10 ml is suggested for detecting articular cartilage defects in equine carpal joints using CT arthrography: Ex vivo pilot study. Computed tomographic arthrography (CTA) has been described as a method for detecting articular cartilage defects in equine carpal joints; however, published studies on the effects of contrast volume for lesion detection are currently lacking. The purpose of this prospective, experimental, pilot study was to determine a threshold volume of iodinated contrast for CTA of the antebrachiocarpal (ABC) and middle carpal (MC) joints for detection of articular cartilage surface defects. Articular cartilage defects were iatrogenically created in the surfaces of the ABC and MC joints of 20 equine cadaver...
Effective protein extraction combined with data independent acquisition analysis reveals a comprehensive and quantifiable insight into the proteomes of articular cartilage and subchondral bone. The objectives of this study was to establish a sensitive and reproducible method to map the cartilage and subchondral bone proteomes in quantitative terms, and mine the proteomes for proteins of particular interest in the pathogenesis of osteoarthritis (OA). The horse was used as a model animal. Protein was extracted from articular cartilage and subchondral bone samples from three horses in triplicate by pressure cycling technology or ultrasonication. Digested proteins were analysed by data independent acquisition based mass spectrometry. Data was processed using a pre-established spectral li...
Surface topography as a tool to detect early changes in a posttraumatic equine model of osteoarthritis. The equine model of posttraumatic osteoarthritis (OA) mimics certain aspects of the naturally occurring disease, both in horses and humans. The objective of this study was to assess articular cartilage degeneration in a posttraumatic OA model using the established macroscopic and microscopic scoring systems and compare them with a novel surface topography analysis. OA was induced in the carpal joint of 15 (n = 15) mixed breed horses. Surface changes on the articular cartilage were characterized using osteochondral blocks from the third carpal bone (C3) and radial carpal bone using surface...
HOX Gene Expressions in Cultured Articular and Nasal Equine Chondrocytes. Osteoarthritis the quality and span of life in horses. Previous studies focused on nasal cartilage as a possible source for autologous chondrocyte implantation (ACI) in cartilage defects in humans. "HOX gene-negative" nasal chondrocytes adapted articular HOX patterns after implantation into caprine joint defects and produced cartilage matrix proteins. We compared the HOX gene profile of equine chondrocytes of nasal septum, anterior and posterior fetlock to identify nasal cartilage as a potential source for ACI in horses. Cartilage was harvested from seven horses after death and derived chondro...
Kinetics of Gene Expression Changes in Equine Fetal Interzone and Anlagen Cells Over 14 Days of Induced Chondrogenesis. Within developing synovial joints, interzone and anlagen cells progress through divergent chondrogenic pathways to generate stable articular cartilage and transient hypertrophic anlagen cartilage, respectively. Understanding the comparative cell biology between interzone and anlagen cells may provide novel insights into emergent cell-based therapies to support articular cartilage regeneration. The aim of this study was to assess the kinetics of gene expression profiles in these skeletal cell lines after inducing chondrogenesis in culture. Interzone and anlagen cells from seven equine fetuses w...
Microstructural features of subchondral radiolucent lesions in the medial femoral condyle of juvenile Thoroughbreds: A microcomputed tomography and histological analysis. The aetiology of equine medial femoral condyle (MFC) subchondral bone radiolucencies (SR) is unknown. Objective: Characterise the microstructural structural features of MFC SR in juvenile Thoroughbreds with microcomputed tomography (μCT) and histology. Methods: Cross-sectional post-mortem study. Methods: Distal femurs were collected at post-mortem. Conventional tomodensitometry was employed to scout for MFCs with and without SR lesions (SR+ and SR-, respectively). Group 1 were CT MFC SR+ and Group 2 age-matched SR- controls. Both underwent μCT and histological analysis. Group 3 CT MFC SR- fo...
Effects of an articular cartilage lubrication with a viscosupplement in vitro and in vivo following osteochondral fractures in horses. To assess whether the combination of hyaluronan, sodium chondroitin sulfate, and -acetyl-d-glucosamine (HCSG) lubricates articular cartilage in vitro and modulates joint lubrication in vivo. Methods: 16 healthy adult horses. Methods: The effects of HCSG injections on SF lubricant properties and joint health, immediately after injury and 2 weeks later, were analyzed by use an equine osteochondral fracture model of post-traumatic osteoarthritis (OA). Middle carpal joints of adult horses were randomly assigned to 1 of 4 surgical treatment groups as follows: normal nonsurgical group (n = 8), norma...
The Bone Cartilage Interface and Osteoarthritis. This review describes results obtained with tissue from prior studies of equine and human osteoarthritis (OA). The main methods considered are scanning electron microscopy, novel methods in light microscopy and X-ray Micro-tomography. The same samples have been re-utilised in several ways. The tissues described are hyaline articular cartilage (HAC; or substitutes), with its deep layer, articular calcified cartilage (ACC), whose deep surface is resorbed in cutting cone events to allow the deposition of subchondral bone (SCB). Multiple tidemarks are normal. Turnover at the osteochondral (ACC-HAC...
Determination of correlation of proximal sesamoid bone osteoarthritis with high-speed furlong exercise and catastrophic sesamoid bone fracture in Thoroughbred racehorses. To examine whether proximal sesamoid bone (PSB) articular cartilage and bone osteoarthritic changes or palmar osteochondral disease (POD) scores were associated with exercise history and catastrophic PSB fracture in Thoroughbred racehorses. Methods: PSBs from 16 Thoroughbred racehorses (8 with and 8 without PSB fracture). Methods: Exercise history was collected, and total career high-speed furlongs was used as the measure of total exercise per horse. At necropsy, medial and lateral condyles of the third metacarpus from each forelimb were assigned a POD score, followed by imaging with micro-CT ...
Aggrecan, IL-1β, IL-6, and TNF-α profiles in the Articular Cartilage of Miniature Horses with Chondrodysplastic Dwarfism. Dwarfism is a skeletal disorder that causes abnormal growth. In Miniature horses, dwarfism can occur as chondrodysplastic dwarfism, an autosomal recessive disorder associated with five mutations (D1, D2, D3*, D4 and c.6465A > T variant) in the aggrecan (ACAN) gene. The aim of this study was to evaluate the expression of aggrecan (at the gene and protein level) and specific cytokines (IL-1β, IL-6, and TNF-α) in the articular cartilage of Miniature horses with chondrodysplastic dwarfism (D4/c.6465A > T genotype). Metatarsal bone samples from eight dwarf Miniature horses were collected fo...
A composite absorbable implant used to treat subchondral bone cysts in 38 horses. In the last 30 years, several treatments have been proposed to treat subchondral cystic lesions (SCLs) but there have been no randomised studies to compare different methods and there is no consensus as to the optimal treatment. Objective: To evaluate a biocompatible absorbable implant for the treatment of SCLs in young horses in different anatomical locations. Methods: Retrospective case series. Methods: Horses with SCLs were treated with debridement through a trans-cortical extra-articular approach and an absorbable implant was inserted in the cavity. Clinical and radiographic follow-up was...
The treatment of articular cartilage injuries with mesenchymal stem cells in different animal species. One of the major problems observed in veterinary practice is articular cartilage injuries in animals. In terms of agriculture, it leads to their culling from the herd, even if they are highly productive animals. With companion animals, owners usually have to decide between euthanasia or long-term sometimes lifelong treatment of the injury by a veterinarian. The use of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) for the treatment of cartilage injury in veterinary medicine is based on the good results observed in preclinical studies, where large animals have been used as experimental models to study the regen...
Training Young Horses: The Science behind the Benefits. Conflicting research and anecdotal evidence have created disagreement among equestrians as to whether two-year-old horses should be trained and raced. The objective of this literature review is to evaluate epidemiological studies, as well as physiological data on equine bone, articular cartilage, and tendons to better determine the impact of training and racing two-year-old horses. The evaluation of numerous studies on the topic provides evidence that a horse which is trained or raced as a two-year-old has a lower risk of injury and better adapted tissues for the rigors of racing. Unfortunatel...
Comparative anatomy and morphology of the knee in translational models for articular cartilage disorders. Part I: Large animals. The human knee is a complex joint, and affected by a variety of articular cartilage disorders. Large animal models are critical to model the complex disease mechanisms affecting a functional joint. Species-dependent differences highly affect the results of a pre-clinical study and need to be considered, necessitating specific knowledge not only of macroscopic and microscopic anatomical and pathological aspects, but also characteristics of their individual gait and joint movements. Methods: Literature search in Pubmed. Conclusions: This narrative review summarizes the most relevant anatomical s...
Marine Collagen Hydrolysates Downregulate the Synthesis of Pro-Catabolic and Pro-Inflammatory Markers of Osteoarthritis and Favor Collagen Production and Metabolic Activity in Equine Articular Chondrocyte Organoids. Articular cartilage experiences mechanical constraints leading to chondral defects that inevitably evolve into osteoarthritis (OA), because cartilage has poor intrinsic repair capacity. Although OA is an incurable degenerative disease, several dietary supplements may help improve OA outcomes. In this study, we investigated the effects of Dielen® hydrolyzed fish collagens from skin (Promerim®30 and Promerim®60) and cartilage (Promerim®40) to analyze the phenotype and metabolism of equine articular chondrocytes (eACs) cultured as organoids. Here, our findings demonstrated the absence of cyto...
Nerve growth factor in the equine joint. Nerve growth factor (NGF) is a neurotrophin with many functions. In humans, it is involved in inflammation, nerve growth, apoptosis and pain signalling. Increased concentrations of NGF in synovial fluid has been shown in humans and dogs with osteoarthritis. Despite osteoarthritis being a common problem in horses, no studies have previously been published on NGF in the equine joint. The aim of this study was to quantify NGF in equine synovial fluid from healthy joints, acutely inflamed septic joints and joints with structural changes associated with osteoarthritis. A secondary aim was to identi...
Cationic contrast-enhanced computed tomography distinguishes between reparative, degenerative, and healthy equine articular cartilage. Cationic contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CECT) is a quantitative imaging technique that characterizes articular cartilage, though its efficacy in differentiating repair tissue from other disease states is undetermined. We hypothesized that cationic CECT attenuation will distinguish between reparative, degenerative, and healthy equine articular cartilage and will reflect biochemical, mechanical, and histologic properties. Chondral defects were created in vivo on equine femoropatellar joint surfaces. Within defects, calcified cartilage was retained (Repair 1) or removed (Repair 2). At sac...
Characterization of Adult and Neonatal Articular Cartilage From the Equine Stifle. A significant portion of equine lameness is localized to the stifle joint. Effective cartilage repair strategies are largely lacking, however, recent advances in surgical techniques, biomaterials, and cellular therapeutics have broadened the clinical strategies of cartilage repair. To date, no studies have been performed directly comparing neonatal and adult articular cartilage from the stifle across multiple sites. An understanding of the differences in properties between the therapeutic target cartilage (i.e., adult cartilage) as well as potential donor cartilage (i.e., neonatal cartilage) c...
Differential Production of Cartilage ECM in 3D Agarose Constructs by Equine Articular Cartilage Progenitor Cells and Mesenchymal Stromal Cells. Identification of articular cartilage progenitor cells (ACPCs) has opened up new opportunities for cartilage repair. These cells may be used as alternatives for or in combination with mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) in cartilage engineering. However, their potential needs to be further investigated, since only a few studies have compared ACPCs and MSCs when cultured in hydrogels. Therefore, in this study, we compared chondrogenic differentiation of equine ACPCs and MSCs in agarose constructs as monocultures and as zonally layered co-cultures under both normoxic and hypoxic conditions. ACPCs a...
Ultrasonographic Appearance of Elbow Joints in a Population of Amiata Donkeys. Ultrasound (US) is a well-established technique for investigating joint diseases in horses, complementary to radiography. Few studies have been performed on the ultrasonographic aspect of the elbow joint in horses and no reports are available on donkeys. The aim of this study is to describe the ultrasonographic appearance of the elbow joint in healthy donkeys. Descriptive cohort study included 34 elbow joints, which were evaluated in 17 donkeys. Inclusion criteria included no lameness or musculoskeletal diseases in the donkeys. The structures evaluated were the lateral and medial collateral li...
Ex Vivo Equine Cartilage Explant Osteoarthritis Model: A Metabolomics and Proteomics Study. Osteoarthritis is an age-related degenerative musculoskeletal disease characterized by loss of articular cartilage, synovitis, and subchondral bone sclerosis. Osteoarthritis pathogenesis is yet to be fully elucidated with no osteoarthritis-specific biomarkers in clinical use. equine cartilage explants ( = 5) were incubated in tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α)/interleukin-1β (IL-1β)-supplemented culture media for 8 days, with the media removed and replaced at 2, 5, and 8 days. Acetonitrile metabolite extractions of 8 day cartilage explants and media samples at all time points underwent one-d...
Comparative label-free proteomic analysis of equine osteochondrotic chondrocytes. Osteochondrosis is a developmental orthopedic disease affecting growing cartilage in young horses. In this study we compared the proteomes of equine chondrocytes obtained from healthy and osteochondrotic cartilage using a label-free mass spectrometry approach. Quantitative changes of some proteins selected for their involvement in different functional pathways highlighted by the bioinformatics analysis, were validated by western blotting, while biochemical alterations of extracellular matrix were confirmed via Raman spectroscopy analysis. In total 1637 proteins were identified, of which 59 wer...
Fluoroquinolone exposure in utero did not affect articular cartilage of resulting foals. Recent studies have shown that fluoroquinolones, specifically, enrofloxacin and its active metabolite (ciprofloxacin), cross the equine placenta without causing gross or histological lesions in the first and third trimester fetuses or resulting foal. However, it is possible that in utero exposure to fluoroquinolones may cause subtle lesions not detectable by standard means; thus, a more in-depth assessment of potential toxicity is warranted. Objective: To use quantitative magnetic resonance imaging (qMRI), biomechanical testing, and chondrocyte gene expression to evaluate the limbs of foals ex...
Use of in vitro assays to identify antibiotics that are cytotoxic to normal equine chondrocytes and synovial cells. Intra-articular (IA) antibiotic usage is prevalent in equine practice. However, recent emergence of antimicrobial resistance prompts re-evaluation of antibiotic selection, particularly when used prophylactically. Furthermore, many commonly used antibiotics exert direct cytotoxicity to equine cells, and appropriate IA doses have not been defined. Objective: To screen antibiotics in vitro as an initial assessment of cytotoxicity against normal equine joint cells in monolayer culture and explant tissues. Methods: In vitro experimental study. Methods: Chondrocytes and synovial cells were harvested...
A composite hydrogel-3D printed thermoplast osteochondral anchor as example for a zonal approach to cartilage repair: in vivo performance in a long-term equine model. Recent research has been focusing on the generation of living personalized osteochondral constructs for joint repair. Native articular cartilage has a zonal structure, which is not reflected in current constructs and which may be a cause of the frequent failure of these repair attempts. Therefore, we investigated the performance of a composite implant that further reflects the zonal distribution of cellular component both in vitro and in vivo in a long-term equine model. Constructs constituted of a 3D-printed poly(ϵ-caprolactone) (PCL) bone anchor from which reinforcing fibers protruded into ...
Effects of Autologous Conditioned Serum, Autologous Protein Solution, and Triamcinolone on Inflammatory and Catabolic Gene Expression in Equine Cartilage and Synovial Explants Treated With IL-1β in Co-culture. Autologous conditioned serum (ACS) and autologous protein solution (APS) are newer therapeutic options for osteoarthritis (OA). Co-culture of cartilage and synovium stimulated with IL-1β produces a similar physiologic response to tissues from naturally-ocurring OA. The study objective was to investigate the effects of ACS, APS, and triamcinolone (TA) on inflammatory and catabolic gene expression of inflamed joint tissues in co-culture. Blood was collected and processed for ACS and APS from six horses. Cartilage and synovial explants were harvested from the stifle, placed in co-culture, and tr...
An experimentally induced osteoarthritis model in horses performed on both metacarpophalangeal and metatarsophalangeal joints: Technical, clinical, imaging, biochemical, macroscopic and microscopic characterization. Osteoarthritis is a common cause of pain and economic loss in both humans and horses. The horse is recognized as a suitable model for human osteoarthritis, because the thickness, structure, and mechanical properties of equine articular cartilage are highly comparable to those of humans. Although a number of equine experimental osteoarthritis models have been described in the literature, these cases generally involve the induction of osteoarthritis in just one joint of each animal. This approach necessitates the involvement of large numbers of horses to obtain reliable data and thus limits the ...
Evaluation of articular cartilage with quantitative MRI in an equine model of post-traumatic osteoarthritis. Chondral lesions lead to degenerative changes in the surrounding cartilage tissue, increasing the risk of developing post-traumatic osteoarthritis (PTOA). This study aimed to investigate the feasibility of quantitative magnetic resonance imaging (qMRI) for evaluation of articular cartilage in PTOA. Articular explants containing surgically induced and repaired chondral lesions were obtained from the stifle joints of seven Shetland ponies (14 samples). Three age-matched nonoperated ponies served as controls (six samples). The samples were imaged at 9.4 T. The measured qMRI parameters included ...
Genetics of Equine Orthopedic Disease. Orthopedic diseases are a common cause for limited exercise capacity in the horse. They often underlie genetic risk factors, which can affect bone, articular cartilage, tendons, ligaments, and adnexal structures among others. The genetic effects can directly interfere with tissue development and skeletal growth or can trigger degenerative or inflammatory processes. Many of these diseases of the locomotor system like osteochondrosis are complex and can be affected by multifactorial influences. For this reason, it is important for those performing diagnostic procedures to have a comprehensive kn...