Hyaluronic acid is a naturally occurring glycosaminoglycan found in various tissues and fluids of horses, including synovial fluid, cartilage, and skin. It is involved in maintaining the viscoelastic properties of synovial fluid, contributing to joint lubrication and shock absorption. Hyaluronic acid is often studied for its role in joint health and its potential therapeutic applications in managing equine osteoarthritis and other joint-related conditions. Research explores its physiological functions, the effects of supplementation or intra-articular injections, and its impact on equine locomotion and performance. This page compiles peer-reviewed research studies and scholarly articles that investigate the biological properties, therapeutic potential, and clinical applications of hyaluronic acid in equine medicine.
Pereira MF, Ribeiro G, Gonzales A, Arantes JA, Dória RGS.Although arthroscopy is the treatment of choice for horses with osteochondritis dissecans (OCD), it is not yet known whether intra-articular therapies in the postoperative period can bring any benefit to the recovery of these animals. This study evaluated the effects of the intra-articular application of platelet-rich plasma (PRP), hyaluronic acid (HA) or lactated Ringer's solution (LR) in horses with OCD undergoing arthroscopy. Eighteen male and female Brazilian Sport horses aged between 2 and 6 years were evaluated. All animals presented OCD fragments in the middle crest of the tibia. Ten da...
Iaconisi GN, Gallo N, Caforio L, Ricci V, Fiermonte G, Della Tommasa S, Bernetti A, Dolce V, Farì G, Capobianco L.Hyaluronic acid (HA) naturally occurs as a biopolymer in the human body, primarily in connective tissues like joints and skin. Functioning as a vital element of synovial fluid, it lubricates joints, facilitating fluid movement and diminishing bone friction to protect articular well-being. Its distinctive attributes encompass notable viscosity and water retention capacities, ensuring flexibility and absorbing shock during motion. Furthermore, HA has gained significant attention for its potential benefits in various medical applications, including rehabilitation. Ongoing research explores its pr...
Potier JFN, Durham AE, Modi R, Rosenberg W, Dash SA.Liver disease is common in equine practice, and treatment and prognosis are dependent on histopathologic examination of biopsies. Liver biopsy is invasive and expensive which restricts its use. Serum markers are used to predict hepatic fibrosis in humans. This study aimed to investigate the enhanced liver fibrosis (ELF) test, based on serum Hyaluronic Acid (HA), procollagen III N-terminal peptide (PIIINP), and tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase 1 (TIMP-1) to detect hepatic fibrosis in equids. Four groups were included; two with increased serum concentrations of liver-derived enzymes and a l...
Gregg SR, Barshick MR, Johnson SE.Following strenuous exercise, skeletal muscle experiences an acute inflammatory state that initiates the repair process. Systemic hyaluronic acid (HA) is injected to horses routinely as a joint anti-inflammatory. To gain insight into the effects of HA on skeletal muscle, adult Thoroughbred geldings (n = 6) were injected with a commercial HA product weekly for 3 weeks prior to performing a submaximal exercise test. Gluteal muscle (GM) biopsies were obtained before and 1 h after exercise for gene expression analysis and HA localization. The results from RNA sequencing demonstrate differences in ...
Lamkin I, Pugliese B, Nystrom J, Fubini SL, Knickelbein KE.To describe the successful restoration of superior eyelid function in a horse following traumatic avulsion using an advancement flap blepharoplasty and subdermal hyaluronic acid filler. Methods: A 21-year-old American Paint Horse stallion who was attacked by a fellow stallion resulting in numerous traumatic injuries including avulsion of approximately 75% of the left superior eyelid. Methods: With standing sedation and locoregional anesthesia, the superior eyelid wound was debrided and an advancement flap blepharoplasty (H-plasty) and temporary tarsorrhaphy were performed. Routine healing of t...
Mustonen AM, Lehmonen N, Oikari S, Capra J, Raekallio M, Mykkänen A, Paakkonen T, Rilla K, Niemelä T, Nieminen P.Osteoarthritis (OA) is a degenerative joint disease with inadequately understood pathogenesis leading to pain and functional limitations. Extracellular vesicles (EVs) released by synovial joint cells can induce both pro- and anti-OA effects. Hyaluronic acid (HA) lubricates the surfaces of articular cartilage and is one of the bioactive molecules transported by EVs. In humans, altered EV counts and composition can be observed in OA synovial fluid (SF), while EV research is in early stages in the horse-a well-recognized OA model. The aim was to characterize SF EVs and their HA cargo in 19 horses...
Pien N, Van de Maele Y, Parmentier L, Meeremans M, Mignon A, De Schauwer C, Peeters I, De Wilde L, Martens A, Mantovani D, Van Vlierberghe S....Hand tendon injuries represent a major clinical problem and might dramatically diminish a patient's life quality. In this study, a targeted solution for flexor tendon repair was developed by combining a mechanical and biological approach. To this end, a novel acrylate-endcapped urethane-based polymer (AUP) was synthesized and its physico-chemical properties were characterized. Next, tubular repair constructs were developed using electrospinning of the AUP material with incorporated naproxen and hyaluronic acid (i.e. anti-inflammatory and anti-adhesion compounds, respectively), and with a tubul...
Vishwanath K, McClure SR, Bonassar LJ.Intra-articular injections of hyaluronic acid have been a mainstay of osteoarthritis treatment for decades. However, controversy surrounds the mechanism of action and efficacy of this therapy. As such, there has been recent interest in developing synthetic lubricants that lubricate cartilage. Recently, a synthetic 4 wt% polyacrylamide (pAAm) hydrogel was shown to effectively decrease lameness in horses. However, its mechanism of action and ability to lubricate cartilage is unknown. The goal of this study was to characterize the lubricating ability of this hydrogel and determine its efficacy ...
Porcello A, Gonzalez-Fernandez P, Jordan O, Allémann E.Hyaluronic acid (HA) constitutes a versatile chemical framework for the development of osteoarthritis pain treatment by means of injection in the joints, so-called viscosupplementation. Without appropriate physico-chemical tuning, such preparations are inherently hindered by prompt in vivo degradation, mediated by hyaluronidases and oxidative stress. To prolong hydrogel residence time and confer optimized product functionality, novel thermoresponsive nanoforming HA derivatives were proposed and characterized. Combined use of sulfo-dibenzocyclooctyne-PEG4-amine linkers and poly(N-isopropylacryl...
Di Francesco P, Cajon P, Desterke C, Perron Lepage MF, Lataillade JJ, Kadri T, Lepage OM.To assess the clinical value and safety of the application of allogeneic equine oral mucosa mesenchymal stromal cells (OM-MSCs) to wounds. Animals. 8 healthy adult horses without front limb skin lesions or musculoskeletal disease. Procedures. Stem cells were isolated from the oral mucosa of a donor horse. Horses were subjected to the creation of eight full-thickness cutaneous wounds, two on each distal forelimb (FL) and two on both sides of the thorax (TH). Each wound was subjected to one out of four treatments: no medication (T1), hyaluronic acid- (HA-) gel containing OM-MSC (T2), HA-gel cont...
Rhodin M, Haubro Andersen P, Holm Forsström K, Ekstrand C.Intra-articular administration of sustained-release anti-inflammatory drugs is indicated in horses suffering from joint inflammation, but no such drugs are labelled for veterinary use. To obtain initial data on synovial disposition and safety of a new sustained-release formulation of diclofenac (SYN321) in the joints of horses, an experimental interventional study of elimination and side effects of intra-articular administration of SYN321 was conducted. Nine clinically sound horses were included in the study, and SYN321 was administered by the intra-articular route. Dose ranges and sampling in...
Snider C, Grant D, Grant SA.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...
Chanda M, Klinphayom C, Sungsuwan T, Senarat W, Thongkham E, Kamlangdee A, Senarat N.In horses, the structures at the dorsal aspect of the carpus, including the digital extensor tendons, their related tendon sheaths, and bones, are vulnerable to injury because of their superficial location. Injuries to these structures may result in lameness of the affected limb(s) and reduce a horse's athletic performance. A 13-year-old eventing horse that routinely underwent regular exercise exhibited dorsolateral distension of the right carpus. An effusion insensitive to compression was observed in the affected area. No lameness was detected, and the horse exhibited a negative response to t...
Fasanello DC, Su J, Deng S, Yin R, Colville MJ, Berenson JM, Kelly CM, Freer H, Rollins A, Wagner B, Rivas F, Hall AR, Rahbar E, DeAngelis PL....TNF-α-stimulated gene 6 (TSG-6) protein, a TNF-α-responsive hyaladherin, possesses enzymatic activity that can catalyze covalent crosslinks of the polysaccharide hyaluronic acid (HA) to another protein to form heavy chain-hyaluronic acid (HC-HA) complexes in pathological conditions such as osteoarthritis (OA). Here, we examined HA synthase and inflammatory gene expression; synovial fluid HA, TNF-α, and viscosity; and TSG-6-mediated HC-HA complex formation in an equine OA model. The objectives of this study were to (1) evaluate the TNF-α-TSG-6-HC-HA signaling pathway across multiple joint t...
Temple-Wong MM, Raleigh AR, Frisbie DD, Sah RL, McIlwraith CW.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...
Watkins A, Fasanello D, Stefanovski D, Schurer S, Caracappa K, D'Agostino A, Costello E, Freer H, Rollins A, Read C, Su J, Colville M, Paszek M....Lameness is a debilitating condition in equine athletes that leads to more performance limitation and loss of use than any other medical condition. There are a limited number of non-terminal experimental models that can be used to study early inflammatory and synovial fluid biophysical changes that occur in the equine joint. Here, we compare the well-established carpal IL-1β-induced synovitis model to a tarsal intra-articular lavage model, focusing on serial changes in synovial fluid inflammatory cytokines/chemokines and the synovial fluid lubricating molecules lubricin/proteoglycan 4 and hya...
Garnica-Galvez S, Korntner SH, Skoufos I, Tzora A, Diakakis N, Prassinos N, Zeugolis DI.The use of macromolecular crowding in the development of extracellular matrix-rich cell-assembled tissue equivalents is continuously gaining pace in regenerative engineering. Despite the significant advancements in the field, the optimal macromolecular crowder still remains elusive. Herein, the physicochemical properties of different concentrations of different molecular weights hyaluronic acid (HA) and their influence on equine adipose-derived stem cell cultures were assessed. Within the different concentrations and molecular weight HAs, the 10 mg/mL 100 kDa and 500 kDa HAs exhibited the high...
da Silva Xavier AA, da Rosa PP, de Brum Mackmill L, Roll VFB.For several years, hyaluronic acid (HyA) and, more recently, polyacrylamide hydrogel (PHyd) have been used to reduce lameness and pain caused by osteoarthritis. However, there is still a lack of scientific evidence of the efficacy of these substances to allow veterinary experts to make decisions about their use in horses. The objective of this study was to evaluate, through a systematic review and network meta-analysis (NMA), the efficacy of HyA, associated or not with other drugs, and PHyd in relieving lameness in horses with osteoarthritis. The searches for primary studies were conducted on ...
Velloso Alvarez A, Boone LH, Braim AP, Taintor JS, Caldwell F, Wright JC, Wooldridge AA.There are several non-steroidal intra-articular therapeutics (NSIATs) available for use by equine practitioners for the treatment of performance-limiting joint-related pathology. Information is limited on perceived clinical efficacy, recommended treatment protocols, and associated complications. Our objective with this cross-sectional survey was to investigate the current clinical usage of NSIATs by equine practitioners. An electronic cross-sectional convenience survey inquiring about the use of steroidal and NSIATS (platelet-rich plasma, autologous conditioned serum, autologous protein soluti...
Mancini IAD, Schmidt S, Brommer H, Pouran B, Schäfer S, Tessmar J, Mensinga A, van Rijen MHP, Groll J, Blunk T, Levato R, Malda J, van Weeren PR.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 ...
Sotelo EDP, Vendruscolo CP, Fülber J, Seidel SRT, Jaramillo FM, Agreste FR, Silva LCLCD, Baccarin RYA.Several studies in human and equine medicine have produced controversial results regarding the role of dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO) as a therapeutic agent. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of joint lavage with different DMSO concentrations on biomarkers of synovial fluid inflammation and cartilage degradation in joints with lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced synovitis. Twenty-six tibiotarsal joints of 13 horses were randomly distributed into four groups (lactated Ringer's solution; 5% DMSO in lactated Ringer's; 10% DMSO in lactated Ringer's; and sham). All animals were evaluated for the prese...
Matheson A, Regmi SC, Martin-Alarcon L, Jay GD, Scott WM, Schmidt TA.: In experimental models of equine joint-injury and osteoarthritis synovial fluid (SF) composition (proteoglycan-4, hyaluronan) can vary, along with changes to SF mechanical function (lubrication, viscosity). The study hypotheses were a) clinical equine joint-injury and disease results in altered SF composition and diminished mechanical function, and b) serum composition (proteoglycan-4 or hyaluronan) changes concurrently. The objectives were to characterize composition (proteoglycan-4, hyaluronan), and function of SF and serum from normal horses compared to clinical groups: osteoarthritis, ac...
de Souza AF, Paretsis NF, De Zoppa ALDV.A systematic review was conducted to investigate evidence to support or refute the use of hyaluronic acid and polyacrylamide hydrogel as intra-articular therapy in equines, which are frequent treatment options in the routine of veterinarians of equines in cases of osteoarthritis. In total, 19 studies were included, among clinical and in vitro studies, as well as a retrospective series of cases. The outcomes of the included studies provided fragile evidence supporting the recommendation for intra-articular use of hyaluronic acid. No study was included showing any clinical outcome in diseased s...
Neuenschwander HM, Moreira JJ, Vendruscolo CP, Fülber J, Seidel SRT, Michelacci YM, Baccarin RYA.The intra-articular use of hyaluronic acid (HA) for the treatment of synovitis and osteoarthritis is still controversial. As a consequence, corticosteroids remain the most frequently employed therapeutic agents, despite their potential systemic and local deleterious effects. This study examined the anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and chondroprotective activities of low and high molecular weight hyaluronic acid (LMW-HA and HMW-HA) on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced synovitis in horses compared to triamcinolone acetonide (TA). LPS was injected in the metacarpophalangeal joints, which were treat...
Johnston GCA, Wood KA, Jackson KV, Perkins NR, Zedler ST.Intra-articular (IA) hyaluronic acid (HA) is commonly used to treat equine arthritis. Inflammatory response or "joint flare" is a recognized potential side effect. However, the incidence and severity of inflammation following IA HA injection in horses is not well documented. This study compared the effects of two IA HA formulations of different molecular weight (MW) and a saline control on clinical signs and synovial fluid markers of inflammation in normal equine joints. Eight adult horses each had three healthy fetlock joints randomly assigned to treatment with either 1.4 mega Dalton HA, 0.8 ...
Gupta RC, Lall R, Srivastava A, Sinha A.Hyaluronic acid (also known as hyaluronan or hyaluronate) is naturally found in many tissues and fluids, but more abundantly in articular cartilage and synovial fluid (SF). Hyaluronic acid (HA) content varies widely in different joints and species. HA is a non-sulfated, naturally occurring non-protein glycosaminoglycan (GAG), with distinct physico-chemical properties, produced by synoviocytes, fibroblasts, and chondrocytes. HA has an important role in the biomechanics of normal SF, where it is partially responsible for lubrication and viscoelasticity of the SF. The concentration of HA and its ...
Tyrnenopoulou PC, Rizos ED, Kritsepi-Konstantinou M, Papadopoulou PL, Patsikas MN, Papazoglou LG, Aggeli A, Diakakis NE.To determine whether differences existed in the viscoelastic properties of synovial fluid samples from the metacarpophalangeal, intercarpal, and distal interphalangeal joints of orthopedically normal athletic horses. Methods: 45 warmblood horses and 30 Thoroughbreds (age range, 4 to 16 years). Methods: Synovial fluid samples were aseptically obtained via arthrocentesis from 1 metacarpophalangeal, intercarpal, and distal interphalangeal joint of each horse, and nucleated cell counts were performed. A commercial ELISA was used to measure sample hyaluronic acid concentrations, and full rheologica...
Feeney E, Peal BT, Inglis JE, Su J, Nixon AJ, Bonassar LJ, Reesink HL.The objective of this study was to examine temporal variations in synovial fluid composition and lubrication following articular fracture. Post-traumatic osteoarthritis (PTOA) was induced by creating an osteochondral fracture in the middle carpal joint of four horses while the contralateral limb served as a sham-operated control. Horses were exercised on a high-speed treadmill, and synovial fluid was collected pre-operatively and at serial timepoints until 75 days post-operatively. Lubricin and hyaluronic acid (HA) concentrations were measured using sandwich ELISAs, and the molecular weight di...
Smith LCR, Wylie CE, Palmer L, Ramzan PHL.There are few observational studies regarding the potentially serious complication of synovial sepsis following intrasynovial medication in general equine practice. Quantification of risk is fundamental to fully inform decision-making and owner consent prior to undertaking procedures. Objective: To describe the occurrence of synovial sepsis following intrasynovial injections in a large ambulatory equine practice between 2006-2011. Methods: Retrospective cohort study. Methods: Medication records were cross-referenced against synovial cytology submissions and hospital admissions for synovial sep...
Machin J, Duer W, Maylin G, Fenger C, Wilson D, Ivey M, Berthold B, Allison S, Tobin T.Methylprednisolone (MP) acetate is a commonly used corticosteroid for suppression of inflammation in synovial structures in horses. Its use is often regulated in equine sports by plasma MP concentrations. Objective: To describe variability in MP plasma concentrations after MP acetate injection in different synovial structures and with co-administration with hyaluronic acid (HA). Methods: Field study in actively racing horses in three disciplines (Thoroughbred, Standardbred and Quarter Horse). Methods: Seventy-six horses (15 Thoroughbreds, 20 Standardbreds and 41 Quarter Horses) were included i...
Gupta RC, Lall R, Srivastava A, Sinha A.Hyaluronic acid (also known as hyaluronan or hyaluronate) is naturally found in many tissues and fluids, but more abundantly in articular cartilage and synovial fluid (SF). Hyaluronic acid (HA) content varies widely in different joints and species. HA is a non-sulfated, naturally occurring non-protein glycosaminoglycan (GAG), with distinct physico-chemical properties, produced by synoviocytes, fibroblasts, and chondrocytes. HA has an important role in the biomechanics of normal SF, where it is partially responsible for lubrication and viscoelasticity of the SF. The concentration of HA and its ...
Hegewald AA, Ringe J, Bartel J, Krüger I, Notter M, Barnewitz D, Kaps C, Sittinger M.Mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) have the potential to differentiate into distinct mesenchymal tissues including cartilage, which suggest these cells as an attractive cell source for cartilage tissue engineering approaches. Our objective was to study the effects of TGF-beta1, hyaluronic acid and synovial fluid on chondrogenic differentiation of equine MSC. For that, bone marrow was aspirated from the tibia of one 18-month-old horse (Haflinger) and MSC were isolated using percoll-density centrifugation. To promote chondrogenesis, MSC were centrifuged to form a micromass and were cultured in a mediu...
Mancini IAD, Schmidt S, Brommer H, Pouran B, Schäfer S, Tessmar J, Mensinga A, van Rijen MHP, Groll J, Blunk T, Levato R, Malda J, van Weeren PR.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 ...
van den Hoogen BM, van Weeren PR, Lopes-Cardozo M, van Golde LM, Barneveld A, van de Lest CH.The amount of uronic acid residues in samples containing glycosaminoglycans or pectin is an important parameter in the quantitative and structural analysis of these complex carbohydrates. This paper describes a method to determine the content of uronic acids in biological samples, using conventional polystyrene microtiter plates and microtiter plate-reading equipment with standard interference filters (i.e., 540 or 492 nm). This assay is a modification of a commonly used procedure, viz. hydrolysis of uronic acid containing carbohydrate polymers in 80% sulfuric acid containing tetraborate ions ...
Balazs EA, Denlinger JL.The availability of elastoviscous solutions of highly purified hyaluronan has created two new therapeutic methods in human and veterinary medicine: viscosurgery and viscosupplementation. Viscosurgical tools and implants are widely used in ophthalmology and have been suggested for use in otology. Visco-supplementation of joint fluid using elastoviscous hyaluronan solutions is widely used in the treatment of equine traumatic arthritis. It was also suggested for use in idiopathic osteoarthritis in humans, but this application has not received wide acceptance. Cross-linked forms of hyaluronan have...
Rivas F, Zahid OK, Reesink HL, Peal BT, Nixon AJ, DeAngelis PL, Skardal A, Rahbar E, Hall AR.Hyaluronan (or hyaluronic acid, HA) is a ubiquitous molecule that plays critical roles in numerous physiological functions in vivo, including tissue hydration, inflammation, and joint lubrication. Both the abundance and size distribution of HA in biological fluids are recognized as robust indicators of various pathologies and disease progressions. However, such analyses remain challenging because conventional methods are not sufficiently sensitive, have limited dynamic range, and/or are only semi-quantitative. Here we demonstrate label-free detection and molecular weight discrimination of HA w...
Frean SP, Abraham LA, Lees P.The effects of hyaluronan and carprofen (both racemic mixture and separate R and S enantiomers) on proteoglycan (PG) synthesis by equine cultured chondrocytes and cartilage explants were examined. Hyaluronan stimulated PG synthesis in both cell and explant cultures. The concentration-response curve of the latter was bell-shaped. Racemic carprofen and R and S enantiomers also stimulated PG synthesis, although concentration-response relationships varied for each preparation and high concentrations inhibited synthesis. It was concluded that (a) hyaluronan exerts a stimulatory effect on PG synthes...
Borzacchiello A, Mayol L, Schiavinato A, Ambrosio L.An amphiphilic hyaluronic acid (HA) derivative has been obtained by the amidation of the carboxylic group of the glucuronic acid. This derivative, HYADD4-G (HY4), is the hexadecylamide of 500-730 kDa hyaluronic acid, derived from Streptococcus equi at about 2% degree of substitution (2 mol hexadecylamine per 100 mol hexuronic acid). Its viscoelastic properties, at a concentration of 5 mg/mL in phosphate buffer saline, have been compared with those solutions of native HA, having the same molecular weight. Changes in the viscoelastic properties of equine synovial fluid (SF) when mixed with HY4 o...
Fuller CJ, Barr AR, Sharif M, Dieppe PA.To investigate the relationship between biochemical markers in the synovial fluid of osteoarthritic and contralateral equine joints and gross articular cartilage pathology. Methods: Twenty-two horses underwent bilateral arthroscopy of their carpal or metacarpophalangeal joints following recent onset lameness. The degree of cartilage damage in each joint was scored and synovial fluid, from both the clinically affected and the contralateral joint, was collected. Bone specific alkaline phosphatase (BAP), 5D4 epitope of keratan sulphate (KS), total glycosaminoglycans (GAG) and hyaluronan (HA) were...
Butler J, Rydell NW, Balazs EA.Twelve horses with traumatic arthritis were treated with intraarticular injection of hyaluronic acid mixed with cortisone and the results compared with 6 horses treated only with cortisone. There was a significantly better improvement in the group injected with a mixture of hyaluronic acid and cortisone. Further studies have given the same results in traumatic arthritis in horses if hyaluronic acid alone is injected. After injection of hyaluronic acid a large number of granulated monocytes appeared in the synovial fluid, but no inflammatory signs were observed. It is possible that this macroph...
Neuenschwander HM, Moreira JJ, Vendruscolo CP, Fülber J, Seidel SRT, Michelacci YM, Baccarin RYA.The intra-articular use of hyaluronic acid (HA) for the treatment of synovitis and osteoarthritis is still controversial. As a consequence, corticosteroids remain the most frequently employed therapeutic agents, despite their potential systemic and local deleterious effects. This study examined the anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and chondroprotective activities of low and high molecular weight hyaluronic acid (LMW-HA and HMW-HA) on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced synovitis in horses compared to triamcinolone acetonide (TA). LPS was injected in the metacarpophalangeal joints, which were treat...
Machado TS, Correia da Silva LC, Baccarin RY, Michelacci YM.Alternative methods to evaluate the joint condition in asymptomatic osteochondrosis dissecans (OCD) and other joint diseases may be useful. Objective: To investigate possible changes in synovial fluid composition that may lead to joint conditions in asymptomatic OCD, in mature horses. Methods: Animals aged >2 years, of different breeds, with OCD in the intermediate ridge of distal tibia, symptomatic or not, were studied. Synovial fluid samples (10 healthy; 11 asymptomatic OCD; 25 symptomatic OCD) were collected by arthroscopy from 29 horses. Glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) were analysed by a comb...
Henson FM, Getgood AM, Caborn DM, McIlwraith CW, Rushton N.To investigate effects of 1% hyaluronic acid-chondroitin sulfate-N-acetyl glucosamine (HCNAG) on the damage repair response in equine articular cartilage. Methods: Articular cartilage from 9 clinically normal adult horses. Methods: Full-thickness cartilage disks were harvested from the third metacarpal bone. Cartilage was single-impact loaded (SIL) with 0.175 J at 0.7 m/s and cultured in DMEM plus 1 % (vol/vol) HCNAG or fibroblastic growth factor (FGF)-2 (50 ng/mL). Histologic and immunohistochemical techniques were used to identify tissue architecture and apoptotic cells and to immunolocalize...
Rotter Sopasakis V, Wickelgren R, Sukonina V, Brantsing C, Svala E, Hansson E, Enerbäck S, Lindahl A, Skiöldebrand E.Chondrocytes are responsible for remodeling and maintaining the structural and functional integrity of the cartilage extracellular matrix. Because of the absence of a vascular supply, chondrocytes survive in a relatively hypoxic environment and thus have limited regenerative capacity during conditions of cellular stress associated with inflammation and matrix degradation, such as osteoarthritis (OA). Glucose is essential to sustain chondrocyte metabolism and is a precursor for key matrix components. In this study, we investigated the importance of glucose as a fuel source for matrix repair dur...
Brown MP, Trumble TN, Plaas AH, Sandy JD, Romano M, Hernandez J, Merritt KA.(1) To investigate the effects of exercise and osteochondral (OC) injury on synovial fluid (SF) chondroitin sulfate (CS) and hyaluronan (HA) concentration and chain length, (2) to compare SF and cartilage CS data from joints with OC fragmentation, and (3) to compare SF CS and HA profiles with those seen in serum from the same horses. Methods: Serum and SF were obtained from (1) normal horses after 8 weeks rest, (2) the same horses after 9 months treadmill training, and (3) horses with OC injury from racing. Articular cartilage was also collected from group 3 horses. Concentrations and chain le...
Taylor SE, Weaver MP, Pitsillides AA, Wheeler BT, Wheeler-Jones CP, Shaw DJ, Smith RK.Quantification of cartilage oligomeric matrix protein (COMP) levels within synovial fluid from the tarsometatarsal joint has not previously been reported and an effective synovial fluid marker would allow monitoring of disease progression and treatment. Objective: To quantify levels of COMP and hyaluronan (HA) in synovial fluid from the tarsometatarsal joint, identify differences in levels from horses with osteoarthritis (OA) of the tarsometatarsal joint compared to a control population and to correlate levels with radiographic changes in horses with OA. Methods: Synovial fluid was collected f...
Baccarin RY, Rasera L, Machado TS, Michelacci YM.Osteoarthritis (OA) of the metacarpophalangeal joint is the most common articular disease in polo ponies leading to early retirement. A biomarker that would discriminate between pathological and physiological changes secondary to exercise could be helpful in OA prevention. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of polo training on synovial fluid biomarkers of inflammation and cartilage turnover in polo ponies of different skill levels. Synovial fluid samples were collected from metacarpophalangeal joints of polo ponies before and during the polo season (320 d). Nucleated cells, s...
Lapointe JM, Laverty S, Lavoie JP.Case histories, results of synovial fluid analyses, treatment regimens and outcome are described for 15 adult Standardbred horses with confirmed post-injection septic arthritis. Joint sepsis followed injection of corticosteroids, hyaluronic acid, polysulphated glycosaminoglycan, or local anaesthetic. The median interval from injection to appearance of clinical signs was 2.5 days, and median interval from injection to referral was 9 days. The median initial synovial leucocyte count on admission was 57 x 10(9)/litre, but there was a wide range of values (18-258 x 10(9)/litre). The median synovia...
Blikslager AT.Ischemic injury is one of the most important causes of mortality in equine veterinary medicine. Although treatment of reperfusion injury has been attempted in a number of experimental trials to reduce the level of injury subsequent to an ischemic episode, this research has not resulted in the development of useful clinical treatments. Nevertheless, recent studies assessing intraluminal application of solutions containing antioxidants, nutrients, and vasodilators are promising. Furthermore, focusing on improving mucosal recovery after an ischemic event may provide an alternative method of reduc...
White KK, Hodgson DR, Hancock D, Parry BW, Cordell C.The effects of repeated arthrocentesis and injection of local anesthetic agents, lidocaine HCl or mepivacaine HCl on the equine middle carpal joint were investigated. Synovial fluid samples were evaluated before, and 12, 24 and 48 hours following, treatment. The greatest changes from pretreatment values occurred in synovial fluid cellularity. Repeated arthrocentesis caused a moderate increase in cell counts, while injection of local anesthetics caused a greater increase. Alterations in mucin clot quality, hyaluronic acid content, fluid viscosity, total protein and immunoglobulin G were general...
Nürnberger S, Meyer C, Ponomarev I, Barnewitz D, Resinger C, Klepal W, Albrecht C, Marlovits S.Treatment of cartilage defects poses challenging problems in human and veterinary medicine, especially in horses. This study examines the suitability of applying scaffold materials similar to those used for human cartilage regeneration on equine chondrocytes. Chondrocytes gained from biopsies of the talocrural joint of three horses were propagated in 2D culture and grown on two different scaffold materials, hyaluronan (HYAFF®) and collagen (BioGide®), and evaluated by light and electron microscopy. The equine chondrocytes developed well in both types of materials. They were vital and physiol...
Wong BL, Kim SH, Antonacci JM, McIlwraith CW, Sah RL.To determine the effects of acute injury and tribosupplementation by hyaluronan (HA) on synovial fluid (SF) modulation of cartilage shear during tibio-femoral articulation. Methods: Human osteochondral blocks from the lateral femoral condyle (LFC) and tibial plateau (LTP) were apposed, compressed 13%, and subjected to sliding under video microscopy. Tests were conducted with equine SF from normal joints (NL-SF), SF from acutely injured joints (AI-SF), and AI-SF to which HA was added (AI-SF+HA). Local and overall shear strain (E(xz)) and the lateral displacement (Deltax) at which E(xz) reached ...
Feeney E, Peal BT, Inglis JE, Su J, Nixon AJ, Bonassar LJ, Reesink HL.The objective of this study was to examine temporal variations in synovial fluid composition and lubrication following articular fracture. Post-traumatic osteoarthritis (PTOA) was induced by creating an osteochondral fracture in the middle carpal joint of four horses while the contralateral limb served as a sham-operated control. Horses were exercised on a high-speed treadmill, and synovial fluid was collected pre-operatively and at serial timepoints until 75 days post-operatively. Lubricin and hyaluronic acid (HA) concentrations were measured using sandwich ELISAs, and the molecular weight di...
Bohannon LK, Owens SD, Walker NJ, Carrade DD, Galuppo LD, Borjesson DL.Joint inflammation and septic arthritis are both potential complications of intra-articular injections of bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (BM-MSCs). Clinicians may prophylactically co-inject BM-MSCs admixed with either antimicrobials or hyaluronic acid; however, the effect of these agents on cultured BM-MSCs is unknown. Objective: To determine the effects of therapeutic levels of gentamicin, amikacin and hyaluronic acid on cultured equine BM-MSCs in vitro. Methods: In vitro experimental study. Methods: Equine BM-MSCs from 4 healthy mature horses were isolated. Cultured BM-MSCs from ...
Wu Y, Stoddart MJ, Wuertz-Kozak K, Grad S, Alini M, Ferguson SJ.Articular cartilage plays an essential role in joint lubrication and impact absorption. Through this, the mechanical signals are coupled to the tissue's physiological response. Healthy synovial fluid has been shown to reduce and homogenize the shear stress acting on the cartilage surfaces due to its unique shear-thinning viscosity. As cartilage tissues are sensitive to mechanical changes in articulation, it was hypothesized that replacing the traditional culture medium with a healthy non-Newtonian lubricant could enhance tissue development in a cartilage engineering model, where joint-kinemati...
Johnston GCA, Wood KA, Jackson KV, Perkins NR, Zedler ST.Intra-articular (IA) hyaluronic acid (HA) is commonly used to treat equine arthritis. Inflammatory response or "joint flare" is a recognized potential side effect. However, the incidence and severity of inflammation following IA HA injection in horses is not well documented. This study compared the effects of two IA HA formulations of different molecular weight (MW) and a saline control on clinical signs and synovial fluid markers of inflammation in normal equine joints. Eight adult horses each had three healthy fetlock joints randomly assigned to treatment with either 1.4 mega Dalton HA, 0.8 ...
Rowley G, Antonas KN, Hilbert BJ.An assay for the determination of hyaluronic acid concentration in equine synovia (synovial fluid) was investigated. The method involved the degradation of hyaluronic acid, using a highly specific microbial enzyme. The unsaturated tetra- and hexasaccharide products were oxidized with periodate and caused to react with thiobarbituric acid for form a chromophore which absorbed in the visible range of the spectrum. The method was precise within acceptable limits for synovia and compared favorably with the widely used carbazole method of Bitter and Muir (Anal Biochem 4:330-334, 1962). The between-...
Timoney JF, Mukhtar MM.The group C streptococci are the most commonly isolated bacteria from disease states in the horse. Important virulence factors of S. equi and S. zooepidemicus are the hyaluronic acid capsule and the antiphagocytic fibrillar M protein located on the surface of the cell wall and extending into and through the capsule. The hyaluronic acid capsule is non-antigenic and so is not involved in protective immunity. The M protein, a superantigen, elicits very strong B and T cell responses that may result in protective immunity mediated by opsonic antibodies in plasma and by locally synthesized IgG and I...
Nizolek DJ, White KK.Degenerative arthrosis is perhaps the most common debilitating disease of performance horses. Treatment should be based upon a knowledge of the anatomy and physiology of normal joints and upon an understanding of the processes of degeneration and repair. These topics are briefly reviewed. Although rest is probably, the most beneficial therapy, physical and pharmaceutical treatments are often employed in an effort to speed recovery. The effects and relative benefits of intrasynovial injections of corticosteroids, hyaluronica cid, and Arteparon are considered in detail. Although local corticoste...
