Omneity® Pellets
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Topic:Cartilage
Cartilage in horses is a specialized connective tissue found in joints, providing a smooth, lubricated surface for articulation and facilitating the transmission of loads with low friction. It is composed of chondrocytes embedded within an extracellular matrix rich in collagen fibers, proteoglycans, and water. Cartilage does not contain blood vessels or nerves, relying on diffusion for nutrient delivery and waste removal. This avascularity contributes to its limited capacity for repair and regeneration. Research on equine cartilage focuses on understanding its structure, function, and the biological processes involved in cartilage development, maintenance, and degeneration. Studies also explore the impact of various conditions, such as osteoarthritis, on cartilage integrity and investigate potential therapeutic approaches for cartilage repair and preservation. This page gathers peer-reviewed research and scholarly articles that delve into the biology, pathology, and treatment of cartilage-related conditions in horses.
Resveratrol and N-acetylcysteine influence redox balance in equine articular chondrocytes under acidic and very low oxygen conditions. Mature articular cartilage is an avascular tissue characterized by a low oxygen environment. In joint disease, acidosis and further reductions in oxygen levels occur, compromising cartilage integrity.This study investigated how acidosis and very low oxygen levels affect components of the cellular redox system in equine articular chondrocytesand whether the antioxidants resveratrol and N-acetylcysteine could modulate this system. We used articular chondrocytes isolated from nondiseased equine joints and cultured them in a 3-D alginate bead system for 48h in <1, 2, 5, and 21% O2 at pH 7.2 or ...
Mechanical characterization of matrix-induced autologous chondrocyte implantation (MACI®) grafts in an equine model at 53 weeks. There has been much interest in using autologous chondrocytes in combination with scaffold materials to aid in cartilage repair. In the present study, a total of 27 animals were used to compare the performance of matrix-assisted chondrocyte implantation (MACI®) using a collagen sponge as a chondrocyte delivery vehicle, the sponge membrane alone, and empty controls. A total of three distinct types of mechanical analyses were performed on repaired cartilage harvested from horses after 53 weeks of implantation: (1) compressive behavior of samples to measure aggregate modulus (HA) and hydraulic p...
Evaluation of articular cartilage progenitor cells for the repair of articular defects in an equine model. We sought to determine the effectiveness of chondroprogenitor cells derived from autologous and allogenic articular cartilage for the repair of cartilage defects in an equine model. Methods: Cartilage defects (15 mm) were created on the medial trochlear ridge of the femur. The following experimental treatments were compared with empty-defect controls: fibrin only, autologous chondroprogenitor cells plus fibrin, and allogenic chondroprogenitor cells plus fibrin (n = 4 or 12 per treatment). Horses underwent strenuous exercise throughout the twelve-month study, and evaluations included lameness (...
Sustained intra-articular release of celecoxib from in situ forming gels made of acetyl-capped PCLA-PEG-PCLA triblock copolymers in horses. In this study, the intra-articular tolerability and suitability for local and sustained release of an in situ forming gel composed of an acetyl-capped poly(ε-caprolactone-co-lactide)-b-poly(ethylene glycol)-b-poly(ε-caprolactone-co-lactide) (PCLA-PEG-PCLA) copolymer loaded with celecoxib was investigated in horse joints. The systems were loaded with two dosages of celecoxib, 50 mg/g ('low CLB gel') and 260 mg/g ('high CLB gel'). Subsequently, they were injected into the joints of five healthy horses. For 72 h after intra-articular injection, they induced a transient inflammatory response,...
Joint-dependent response to impact and implications for post-traumatic osteoarthritis. The prevalence of osteoarthritis (OA) varies between joints. Cartilage in eight different joints was evaluated to elucidate the disparate susceptibilities between joints to post-traumatic OA (PTOA) and provide evidence for joint-specific clinical treatments. The hypothesis was that cartilage in different joints would have varying cell death and anabolic gene expression profiles after injury. Methods: Adult equine cartilage explants were harvested from shoulder (SH), elbow (EL), carpal (CA), metacarpophalangeal (MC), patellofemoral (FP), tarsal (TA), metatarsophalangeal (MT), and proximal inter...
Development of an equine groove model to induce metacarpophalangeal osteoarthritis: a pilot study on 6 horses. The aim of this work was to develop an equine metacarpophalangeal joint model that induces osteoarthritis that is not primarily mediated by instability or inflammation. The study involved six Standardbred horses. Standardized cartilage surface damage or "grooves" were created arthroscopically on the distal dorsal aspect of the lateral and medial metacarpal condyles of a randomly chosen limb. The contralateral limb was sham operated. After 2 weeks of stall rest, horses were trotted 30 minutes every other day for 8 weeks, then evaluated for lameness and radiographed. Synovial fluid was analyzed ...
Crosslinkable hydrogels derived from cartilage, meniscus, and tendon tissue. Decellularized tissues have proven to be versatile matrices for the engineering of tissues and organs. These matrices usually consist of collagens, matrix-specific proteins, and a set of largely undefined growth factors and signaling molecules. Although several decellularized tissues have found their way to clinical applications, their use in the engineering of cartilage tissue has only been explored to a limited extent. We set out to generate hydrogels from several tissue-derived matrices, as hydrogels are the current preferred cell carriers for cartilage repair. Equine cartilage, meniscus, a...
A chondrocyte infiltrated collagen type I/III membrane (MACI® implant) improves cartilage healing in the equine patellofemoral joint model. Autologous chondrocyte implantation (ACI) has improved outcome in long-term studies of joint repair in man. However, ACI requires sutured periosteal flaps to secure the cells, which precludes minimally-invasive implantation, and introduces complications with arthrofibrosis and graft hypertrophy. This study evaluated ACI on a collagen type I/III scaffold (matrix-induced autologous chondrocyte implantation; MACI(®)) in critical sized defects in the equine model. Methods: Chondrocytes were isolated from horses, expanded and seeded onto a collagen I/III membrane (ACI-Maix™) and implanted into o...
Omics technologies provide new insights into the molecular physiopathology of equine osteochondrosis. Osteochondrosis (OC(D)) is a juvenile osteo-articular disorder affecting several mammalian species. In horses, OC(D) is considered as a multifactorial disease and has been described as a focal disruption of endochondral ossification leading to the development of osteoarticular lesions. Nevertheless, OC(D) physiopathology is poorly understood. Affected horses may present joint swelling, stiffness and lameness. Thus, OC(D) is a major concern for the equine industry. Our study was designed as an integrative approach using omics technologies for the identification of constitutive defects in epiphy...
Ossification of ungular cartilages in front feet of cold-blooded trotters–a clinical radiographic evaluation of development over time. It has not yet been shown that ossification of ungular cartilages (OUC) is a pathological condition. Beside heredity, factors such as sex, age, repeated concussion, local trauma, hoof and body size have been suggested as contributing factors for OUC development. By comparing radiographs of front hooves from cold-blooded trotters with different age we wanted to evaluate when development of OUC in cold-blooded trotters occurs and if and when it stabilizes in relation to age and workload. Diagnosis and grading of OUC were based on radiological field examinations of 649 Swedish and Norwegian cold-...
Andrographolide Exerts Chondroprotective Activity in Equine Cartilage Explant and Suppresses Interleukin-1 β -Induced MMP-2 Expression in Equine Chondrocyte Culture. Cartilage erosion in degenerative joint diseases leads to lameness in affected horses. It has been reported that andrographolide from Andrographis paniculata inhibited cartilage matrix-degrading enzymes. This study aimed to explore whether this compound protects equine cartilage degradation in the explant culture model and to determine its effect on matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2) expression, a matrix-degrading enzyme, in equine chondrocyte culture. Equine articular cartilage explant culture was induced by 25 ng/mL interleukin-1β, a key inducer of cartilage degeneration, in cultures with...
Significance of ossificated ungular cartilages regarding the performance of cold-blooded trotters. Ossification of the ungular cartilages (OUC) in the foot of horses has been studied for more than 100 years. There is a high heritability of this condition but its clinical relevance has remained questionable. Nevertheless, modern equine orthopedic literature ranks OUC as one of top 10 causes of lameness in cold-blooded trotters and stallions of these breeds are excluded from breeding if they have more than mild levels of side bones. Cold-blooded trotters have been used for racing for many decades and official sports data have been available since 1923. A decreased performance is often the onl...
Implantation of rAAV5-IGF-I transduced autologous chondrocytes improves cartilage repair in full-thickness defects in the equine model. Cartilage injury often precipitates osteoarthritis which has driven research to bolster repair in cartilage impact damage. Autologous chondrocytes transduced with rAAV5-IGF-I were evaluated in chondral defects in a well-established large animal model. Cartilage was harvested from the talus of 24 horses; chondrocytes were isolated and stored frozen. Twenty million cells were cultured and transduced with 10(5) AAV vg/cell prior to implantation. Chondrocytes from eight horses were transduced with rAAV5-IGF-I, chondrocytes from eight horses with rAAV5-GFP, and chondrocytes from eight horses were n...
Interspecies comparison of subchondral bone properties important for cartilage repair. Microfracture repair tissue in young adult humans and in rabbit trochlea is frequently of higher quality than in corresponding ovine or horse models or in the rabbit medial femoral condyle (MFC). This may be related to differences in subchondral properties since repair is initiated from the bone. We tested the hypothesis that subchondral bone from rabbit trochlea and the human MFC are structurally similar. Trochlea and MFC samples from rabbit, sheep, and horse were micro-CT scanned and histoprocessed. Samples were also collected from normal and lesional areas of human MFC. The subchondral bone...
Next-generation sequencing identifies equine cartilage and subchondral bone miRNAs and suggests their involvement in osteochondrosis physiopathology. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are an abundant class of small single-stranded non-coding RNA molecules ranging from 18 to 24 nucleotides. They negatively regulate gene expression at the post-transcriptional level and play key roles in many biological processes, including skeletal development and cartilage maturation. In addition, miRNAs involvement in osteoarticular diseases has been proved and some of them were identified as suitable biomarkers for pathological conditions. Equine osteochondrosis (OC) is one of the most prevalent juvenile osteoarticular disorders in horses and represents a major concern f...
The embryogenesis of the equine femorotibial joint: The equine interzone. Articular cartilage regeneration is the focus and goal of considerable research effort. Since articular chondrocytes descend from a distinct cohort of progenitor cells located in embryonic nascent joints (interzones), establishing the timing of equine interzone formation is an essential first step towards understanding equine joint and articular cartilage development. Objective: To establish the time frame during which the equine femorotibial interzone forms. Methods: Descriptive anatomical study. Methods: Equine embryos were harvested at 37 (E37), 40, 42, 45, 50 and 65 days' gestation. The fe...
Effects of low and high dose intraarticular tiludronate on synovial fluid and clinical variables in healthy horses-a preliminary investigation. To determine effects of intraarticularly administered tiludronate on articular cartilage in vivo, eight healthy horses were injected once with tiludronate (low dose tiludronate [LDT] 0.017 mg, n = 4; high dose tiludronate [HDT] 50 mg, n = 4) into one middle carpal joint and with saline into the contralateral joint. Arthrocentesis of both middle carpal joints was performed pre-treatment, and 10 min, 24 h, 48 h, 7 and 14 days after treatment. Synovial nucleated cell counts and total solids, tiludronate, sulfated glycosaminoglycan (sGAG), chondroitin sulfate 846 epitope (CS-846, a measure of aggr...
Cell and matrix modulation in prenatal and postnatal equine growth cartilage, zones of Ranvier and articular cartilage. Formation of synovial joints includes phenotypic changes of the chondrocytes and the organisation of their extracellular matrix is regulated by different factors and signalling pathways. Increased knowledge of the normal processes involved in joint development may be used to identify similar regulatory mechanisms during pathological conditions in the joint. Samples of the distal radius were collected from prenatal and postnatal equine growth plates, zones of Ranvier and articular cartilage with the aim of identifying Notch signalling components and cells with stem cell-like characteristics and...
Evaluation of chitosan-GP hydrogel biocompatibility in osteochondral defects: an experimental approach. Articular cartilage, because of its avascular nature, has little capacity for spontaneous healing, and tissue engineering approaches, employing different biomaterials and cells, are under development. Among the investigated biomaterials are the chitosan-based hydrogels. Although thoroughly studied in other mammalian species, studies are scarce in equines. So, the aim of the present study was to investigate the biocompatibility of chitosan-GP in horse joints submitted to high mechanical loads. Results: An osteochondral defect was created by arthroscopy in the medial surface of lateral trochlea ...
Comparison of equine articular cartilage thickness in various joints. Thicknesses of fresh equine articular cartilage surfaces from the fetlock, carpal and stifle joints were measured employing a needle probe test. Methods: Eighty-seven samples used in measurement were cultivated from fetlock, carpal and stifle joints of 12 deceased within 4 h of death. After approximately three minutes of exposure to air during dissection, all cartilage samples were preserved in a saline solution to keep the articular cartilage hydrated for testing. The thickness was measured on five different spots on the same sample. The thicknesses of the fetlock, carpus and stifle were co...
Multipotency of equine mesenchymal stem cells derived from synovial fluid. Cartilage regeneration with cell therapy following arthroscopic surgery could be used in racehorses with intra-articular fractures (IAF) and osteochondritis dissecans (OCD). The aims of this study were to investigate the origin and multipotency of stromal cells in the synovial fluid (SF) of horses with intra-articular injury and synovitis, and to provide a new strategy for regeneration of lost articular cartilage. Mesenchymal stromal cells were isolated from SF of horses with IAF and OCD. Multipotency was analysed by RT-PCR for specific mRNAs and staining for production of specific extracellul...
Comparison of the blood supply to the articular-epiphyseal growth complex in horse vs. pony foals. To increase understanding of why the prevalence of clinical/radiographic osteochondrosis (OC) dissecans is high in horses and low in ponies. Objective: To investigate whether the clinical difference in OC occurrence between horses and ponies could partly be explained by a difference in: 1) number of patent vessels in the epiphyseal growth cartilage; 2) duration of the presence of patent cartilage canals; or 3) growth cartilage thickness at predilection sites for OC. The hypothesis was that pony foals would have fewer cartilage canals, shorter duration of blood supply and thinner growth cartila...
The effect of recombinant human fibroblast growth factor-18 on articular cartilage following single impact load. The aim of this in vitro study was to ascertain the effect of recombinant human Fibroblast Growth Factor-18 (rhFGF18) on the repair response of mechanically damaged articular cartilage. Articular cartilage discs were harvested from healthy mature horses (n = 4) and subjected to single impact load (SIL). The impacted explants, together with unimpacted controls were cultured in modified DMEM ± 200 ng/ml rhFGF18 for up to 30 days. Glycosaminoglycan (GAG) release into the media was measured using the dimethylmethylene blue (DMMB) assay. Aggrecan neopepitope CS846, collagen type II synth...
Microstructural changes in cartilage and bone related to repetitive overloading in an equine athlete model. The palmar aspect of the third metacarpal (MC3) condyle of equine athletes is known to be subjected to repetitive overloading that can lead to the accumulation of joint tissue damage, degeneration, and stress fractures, some of which result in catastrophic failure. However, there is still a need to understand at a detailed microstructural level how this damage progresses in the context of the wider joint tissue complex, i.e. the articular surface, the hyaline and calcified cartilage, and the subchondral bone. MC3 bones from non-fractured joints were obtained from the right forelimbs of 16 Thor...
In vivo effects of phenylbutazone on inflammation and cartilage-derived biomarkers in equine joints with acute synovitis. Although phenylbutazone (PBZ) is commonly used in equine orthopaedic practice, little is known about its in vivo effects on joint inflammation and cartilage turnover. This study investigates the effects of PBZ on inflammatory parameters, matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) activity and cartilage biomarkers in equine joints with acute synovitis. In a two-period cross-over study, transient synovitis was induced at T = 0 h in the middle carpal joint of seven ponies by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) injection. Ponies received PBZ (2 mg/kg PO twice daily) or placebo for 1 week, starting at T = 2 h. Ar...
Effect of osmotic stress on the expression of TRPV4 and BKCa channels and possible interaction with ERK1/2 and p38 in cultured equine chondrocytes. The metabolic activity of articular chondrocytes is influenced by osmotic alterations that occur in articular cartilage secondary to mechanical load. The mechanisms that sense and transduce mechanical signals from cell swelling and initiate volume regulation are poorly understood. The purpose of this study was to investigate how the expression of two putative osmolyte channels [transient receptor potential vanilloid 4 (TRPV4) and large-conductance Ca(2+)-activated K(+) (BKCa)] in chondrocytes is modulated in different osmotic conditions and to examine a potential role for MAPKs in this process...
Osteochondral lesions in distal tarsal joints of Icelandic horses reveal strong associations between hyaline and calcified cartilage abnormalities. Osteochondral lesions in the joints of the distal tarsal region of young Icelandic horses provide a natural model for the early stages of osteoarthritis (OA) in low-motion joints. We describe and characterise mineralised and non-mineralised osteochondral lesions in left distal tarsal region joint specimens from twenty-two 30 ±1 month-old Icelandic horses. Combinations of confocal scanning light microscopy, backscattered electron scanning electron microscopy (including, importantly, iodine staining) and three-dimensional microcomputed tomography were used on specimens obtained with guidance f...
Involvement of mitochondrial dysfunction and ER-stress in the physiopathology of equine osteochondritis dissecans (OCD). Osteochondrosis (OC) is a developmental bone disorder affecting several mammalian species including the horse. Equine OC is described as a focal disruption of endochondral ossification, leading to osteochondral lesions (osteochondritis dissecans, OCD) that may release free bodies within the joint. OCD lesions trigger joint swelling, stiffness and lameness and affects about 30% of the equine population. OCD is considered as multifactorial but its physiopathology is still poorly understood and genes involved in genetic predisposition are still unknown. Our study compared two healthy and two OC-a...
Horses and cows might teach us about human knees. Our comparative study of the knees of horses and cows (paraphrased as highly evolved joggers and as domesticated couch-potatoes, respectively) demonstrates significant differences in the posterior sections of bovine and equine tibial cartilage, which are consistent with specialisation for gait. These insights were possible using a novel analytical measuring technique based on the shearing of small biopsy samples, called dynamic shear analysis. We assert that this technique could provide a powerful new tool to precisely quantify the pathology of osteoarthritis for the medical field.
Alterations in sclerostin protein in lesions of equine osteochondrosis. Osteochondrosis (OC) is a common and clinically important joint disease that occurs in many species, including humans, pigs, chickens and horses. It has been described as a focal failure of endochondral ossification (EO), but no cellular/molecular mechanisms are fully described that explain the cause of this condition. Recently a Wnt signalling inhibitor, sclerostin, has been described in osteoarthritic cartilage, where it has been proposed to protect damaged cartilage from degradation. Cartilage degradation is a key event in EO, thus, abnormalities of sclerostin in growth cartilage could, pot...
