Journal of proteomics2012; 75(14); 4478-4493; doi: 10.1016/j.jprot.2012.02.008

Gambling on putative biomarkers of osteoarthritis and osteochondrosis by equine synovial fluid proteomics.

Chiaradia, E
·
Pepe, M
·
Tartaglia, M
·
Scoppetta, F
·
D'Ambrosio, C
·
Renzone, G
·
Avellini, L
·
Moriconi, F
·
Gaiti, A
·
Bertuglia, A
·
Beccati, F
·
Scaloni, A

Abstract: Osteoarthritis (OA) and osteochondrosis (OC) are two of the main challenges in orthopedics, whose definitive diagnosis is usually based on radiographic/arthroscopic evidences. Their early diagnosis should allow preventive or timely therapeutic actions, which are generally precluded from the poor relationships occurring between symptomatologic and radiographic evidences. These limitations should be overcome by improving the knowledge on articular tissue metabolism and on molecular factors regulating its normal homeostasis, also identifying novel OA and OC biomarkers suitable for their earlier diagnoses, whenever clinical/pathological inflammatory scenarios between these joint diseases seem somewhat related. To identify proteins involved in their aetiology and progression, we undertook a differential proteomic analysis of equine synovial fluid (SF), which compared the protein pattern of OA or OC patients with that of healthy individuals. Deregulated proteins in OA and OC included components related to inflammatory state, coagulation pathways, oxidative stress and matrix damage, which were suggestive of pathological alterations in articular homeostasis, plasma-SF exchange, joint nutritional status and vessel permeability. Some proteins seemed commonly deregulated in both pathologies indicating that, regardless of the stimulus, common pathways are affected and/or the animal joint uses the same molecular mechanisms to restore its homeostasis. On the other hand, the increased number of deregulated proteins observed in OA with respect to OC, together with their nature, confirmed the high inflammatory character of this disease. Some deregulated proteins in OA found a verification by analyzing the SF of injured arthritic joints following autologous conditioned serum treatment, an emergent therapy that provides positive results for both human and equine OA. Being the horse involved in occupational/sporting activities and considered as an excellent animal model for human joint diseases, our data provide suggestive information for tentative biomedical extrapolations, allowing to overcome the limitations in joint size and workload that are typical of other small animal models.

Get Full Text

Publication Date: 2012-02-15 PubMed ID: 22361695DOI: 10.1016/j.jprot.2012.02.008Google Scholar: Lookup

The Equine Research Bank provides access to a large database of publicly available scientific literature. Inclusion in the Research Bank does not imply endorsement of study methods or findings by Mad Barn.

Facebook X LinkedIn Email Copy

Summary
Cite This
Publication
Affiliations
MeSH
Citations

Journal Article
Research Support
Non-U.S. Gov't

Summary

This research summary has been generated with artificial intelligence and may contain errors and omissions. Refer to the original study to confirm details provided. Submit correction.

The research article investigates potential biomarkers for early diagnosis of osteoarthritis and osteochondrosis. By comparing the synovial fluid protein patterns of healthy individuals and patients diagnosed with these conditions, the study provides novel insights into the molecular mechanisms that cause these joint diseases and assesses the effectiveness of a new treatment method.

Understanding the Objective and Methodology

The researchers attempted to enhance the understanding of articular tissue metabolism and molecular factors that regulate its normal state. Special attention was given to finding new biomarkers for osteoarthritis (OA) and osteochondrosis (OC), which are two of the main challenges in orthopedics.
The primary tool used in the study was a differential proteomic analysis of equine synovial fluid (SF). This analytical technique enables the comparison of protein patterns among healthy individuals and patients suffering from OA and OC. The aim was to identify proteins that play a key role in the onset and progression of these diseases.

Key Findings

The analyses indicated that proteins linked to inflammatory state, coagulation pathways, oxidative stress, and matrix damage are deregulated in OA and OC. This suggests that these diseases result in pathological alterations in articular homeostasis, changes in the exchange between plasma and synovial fluid, degraded joint nutritional status, and increased vessel permeability.
Interestingly, some proteins were commonly deregulated in both pathologies. This could mean that regardless of the underlying cause, similar pathways are affected, or that the joint utilizes the same molecular mechanisms to restore its homeostasis.
However, the study also revealed a higher number of deregulated proteins in OA compared to OC, confirming OA’s high inflammatory nature. Some deregulated proteins in OA were further confirmed by analyzing the synovial fluid from injured arthritic joints post autologous conditioned serum treatment.

Broad Implications

This research focuses on the horse, an animal that’s engaged in occupational and sporting activities, making it an excellent model for human joint diseases. Thus, the findings could provide valuable information for potential biomedical extrapolations.
The results will help to overcome the limitations in joint size and workload that are typical of using smaller animal models for similar studies. The research also shines a light on possible advances in diagnosis and treatment procedures for common joint diseases.

Cite This Article

APA

Chiaradia E, Pepe M, Tartaglia M, Scoppetta F, D'Ambrosio C, Renzone G, Avellini L, Moriconi F, Gaiti A, Bertuglia A, Beccati F, Scaloni A. (2012). Gambling on putative biomarkers of osteoarthritis and osteochondrosis by equine synovial fluid proteomics. J Proteomics, 75(14), 4478-4493. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jprot.2012.02.008

Publication

Journal of proteomics

ISSN: 1876-7737

NlmUniqueID: 101475056

Country: Netherlands

Language: English

Volume: 75

Issue: 14

Pages: 4478-4493

Researcher Affiliations

Chiaradia, Elisabetta

Sports Horse Research Centre, Department of Pathologic, Diagnostic and Clinical Veterinary Medicine, University of Perugia, 06126 Perugia, Italy.

Pepe, Marco

Tartaglia, Micaela

Scoppetta, Fausto

D'Ambrosio, Chiara

Renzone, Giovanni

Avellini, Luca

Moriconi, Franco

Gaiti, Alberto

Bertuglia, Andrea

Beccati, Francesca

Scaloni, Andrea

MeSH Terms

Animals
Biomarkers / analysis
Horse Diseases / diagnosis
Horse Diseases / metabolism
Horses
Osteoarthritis / diagnosis
Osteoarthritis / metabolism
Osteoarthritis / veterinary
Osteochondrosis / metabolism
Osteochondrosis / veterinary
Proteome / analysis
Synovial Fluid / chemistry

Citations

This article has been cited 15 times.

Mustonen AM, Lehmonen N, Oikari S, Capra J, Raekallio M, Mykkänen A, Paakkonen T, Rilla K, Niemelä T, Nieminen P. Counts of hyaluronic acid-containing extracellular vesicles decrease in naturally occurring equine osteoarthritis. Sci Rep 2022 Oct 20;12(1):17550.
doi: 10.1038/s41598-022-21398-8pubmed: 36266410google scholar: lookup
Gawor A, Ruszczyńska A, Konopka A, Wryk G, Czauderna M, Bulska E. Label-Free Mass Spectrometry-Based Proteomic Analysis in Lamb Tissues after Fish Oil, Carnosic Acid, and Inorganic Selenium Supplementation. Animals (Basel) 2022 May 31;12(11).
doi: 10.3390/ani12111428pubmed: 35681892google scholar: lookup
Chiaradia E, Pepe M, Orvietani PL, Renzone G, Magini A, Sforna M, Emiliani C, Di Meo A, Scaloni A. Proteome Alterations in Equine Osteochondrotic Chondrocytes. Int J Mol Sci 2019 Dec 7;20(24).
doi: 10.3390/ijms20246179pubmed: 31817880google scholar: lookup
Anderson JR, Smagul A, Simpson D, Clegg PD, Rubio-Martinez LM, Peffers MJ. The synovial fluid proteome differentiates between septic and nonseptic articular pathologies. J Proteomics 2019 Jun 30;202:103370.
doi: 10.1016/j.jprot.2019.04.020pubmed: 31028944google scholar: lookup
Poltep K, Tesena P, Yingchutrakul Y, Taylor J, Wongtawan T. Optimisation of a serum albumin removal protocol for use in a proteomic study to identify the protein biomarkers for silent gastric ulceration in horses. J Equine Sci 2018 Sep;29(3):53-60.
doi: 10.1294/jes.29.53pubmed: 30250392google scholar: lookup
Hulme CH, Wilson EL, Fuller HR, Roberts S, Richardson JB, Gallacher P, Peffers MJ, Shirran SL, Botting CH, Wright KT. Two independent proteomic approaches provide a comprehensive analysis of the synovial fluid proteome response to Autologous Chondrocyte Implantation. Arthritis Res Ther 2018 May 2;20(1):87.
doi: 10.1186/s13075-018-1573-4pubmed: 29720234google scholar: lookup
Andreassen SM, Vinther AML, Nielsen SS, Andersen PH, Tnibar A, Kristensen AT, Jacobsen S. Changes in concentrations of haemostatic and inflammatory biomarkers in synovial fluid after intra-articular injection of lipopolysaccharide in horses. BMC Vet Res 2017 Jun 19;13(1):182.
doi: 10.1186/s12917-017-1089-1pubmed: 28629364google scholar: lookup
Schneider MC, Barnes CA, Bryant SJ. Characterization of the chondrocyte secretome in photoclickable poly(ethylene glycol) hydrogels. Biotechnol Bioeng 2017 Sep;114(9):2096-2108.
doi: 10.1002/bit.26320pubmed: 28436002google scholar: lookup
Peffers MJ, McDermott B, Clegg PD, Riggs CM. Comprehensive protein profiling of synovial fluid in osteoarthritis following protein equalization. Osteoarthritis Cartilage 2015 Jul;23(7):1204-13.
doi: 10.1016/j.joca.2015.03.019pubmed: 25819577google scholar: lookup
Desjardin C, Riviere J, Vaiman A, Morgenthaler C, Diribarne M, Zivy M, Robert C, Le Moyec L, Wimel L, Lepage O, Jacques C, Cribiu E, Schibler L. Omics technologies provide new insights into the molecular physiopathology of equine osteochondrosis. BMC Genomics 2014 Oct 31;15(1):947.
doi: 10.1186/1471-2164-15-947pubmed: 25359417google scholar: lookup
Bennike T, Ayturk U, Haslauer CM, Froehlich JW, Proffen BL, Barnaby O, Birkelund S, Murray MM, Warman ML, Stensballe A, Steen H. A normative study of the synovial fluid proteome from healthy porcine knee joints. J Proteome Res 2014 Oct 3;13(10):4377-87.
doi: 10.1021/pr500587xpubmed: 25160569google scholar: lookup
Secor EJ, Womack SJ, Ysebaert MP, Colville MJ, Reesink HL. Synovial fluid alpha-2-macroglobulin, gelsolin and lubricin distinguish between osteoarthritic and healthy equine joints. Equine Vet J 2026 Jan;58(1):49-59.
doi: 10.1111/evj.14511pubmed: 40342270google scholar: lookup
Steinmeyer J. Phospholipids and Sphingolipids in Osteoarthritis. Biomolecules 2025 Feb 8;15(2).
doi: 10.3390/biom15020250pubmed: 40001553google scholar: lookup
Anderson JR, Phelan MM, Caamaño-Gutiérrez E, Clegg PD, Rubio-Martinez LM, Peffers MJ. Metabolomic and proteomic stratification of equine osteoarthritis. Equine Vet J 2025 Sep;57(5):1204-1218.
doi: 10.1111/evj.14490pubmed: 39972657google scholar: lookup
Lascelles BDX, Ponnala R, Kamerling SG, Williams T. Proteomic profiling of serum in cats with naturally occurring degenerative joint disease and co-morbid conditions. Front Pain Res (Lausanne) 2025;6:1501932.
doi: 10.3389/fpain.2025.1501932pubmed: 39968160google scholar: lookup