Significant exercise-related changes in the serum levels of two biomarkers of collagen metabolism in young horses.
Abstract: To identify metabolic biomarkers that can be evaluated in serum for monitoring the effects of exercise on skeletal development in mammals. Methods: Sera of foals from three groups (box-stall rest, pasture and training) were serially collected over the first 5 months of life and assayed for eight biomarkers of cartilage and bone metabolism. Sub-populations from each group were sampled for an additional 6 months of identical exercise. Results: When expressed as a percentage of baseline values, lower serum levels of the carboxy-terminal propeptides of type II collagen (CPII), and higher serum levels of the cross-linked telopeptide fragments of degraded type I collagen (CTx1) were found in the trained foals compared to the other groups. Significant differences disappeared in those foals sampled during an additional 6 months of identical exercise. The most significant correlations were between serum biomarkers of bone metabolism, being positive between anabolic markers and negative between anabolic and catabolic markers. Serum levels of CTx1 and CPII significantly increased with age in all groups throughout the study. Conclusions: We have identified two markers of collagen metabolism, CPII and CTx1, as potential serum indicators of the exercise effects on the developing skeletal system in horses. Forced exercise during the first months postpartum appeared to have a negative effect on collagen turnover when compared to levels in pastured foals. Routine monitoring of collagen biomarkers in sera of exercising young mammals may allow for the early detection of abnormalities in skeletal tissue metabolism and for subsequent intervention before permanent damage occurs.
Publication Date: 2003-09-18 PubMed ID: 13129696DOI: 10.1016/s1063-4584(03)00152-3Google Scholar: Lookup
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- Journal Article
- Research Support
- Non-U.S. Gov't
Summary
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The research article discusses a study that aims to identify potential serum metabolic biomarkers for monitoring the effects of exercise on skeletal development in young horses. In particular, it identified two markers of collagen metabolism, CPII and CTx1, which showed significant changes in serum levels related to exercise conditions.
Methods
- The study examined the serum of young horses, or foals, from three different groups – those kept at rest in a box-stall, those kept in a pasture, and those under a training regime.
- Samples were collected serially over the foals’ first 5 months of life. These samples were then assayed, or tested, for eight different biomarkers related to cartilage and bone metabolism.
- Some foals from each group were then subjected to another 6 months of identical exercise, and their serum was collected and analyzed again.
Results
- The study found lower serum levels of CPII, the carboxy-terminal propeptides of type II collagen, in the trained foals compared to the other groups. At the same time, serum levels of CTx1, the cross-linked telopeptide fragments of degraded type I collagen, were higher in the trained foals.
- The significant differences in these biomarkers disappeared in the foals that underwent an additional 6 months of identical exercise.
- The research also found significant correlations between certain anabolic and catabolic serum biomarkers of bone metabolism.
- Interestingly, the serum levels of both CTx1 and CPII increased with age universally across all groups throughout the duration of the study.
Conclusions
- The research identified CPII and CTx1 as potential serum indicators of the effects of exercise on skeletal development in horses.
- The results suggest that forced exercise during the first months after birth may have a negative effect on collagen turnover, compared to the levels in foals allowed to roam in pastures.
- Based on these findings, the study suggests the routine monitoring of collagen biomarkers in the serum of young, exercising mammals. This practice could allow for early detection of any skeletal tissue metabolism abnormalities and provide opportunities for interventions before permanent damage happens.
Cite This Article
APA
Billinghurst RC, Brama PA, van Weeren PR, Knowlton MS, McIlwraith CW.
(2003).
Significant exercise-related changes in the serum levels of two biomarkers of collagen metabolism in young horses.
Osteoarthritis Cartilage, 11(10), 760-769.
https://doi.org/10.1016/s1063-4584(03)00152-3 Publication
Researcher Affiliations
- Department of Clinical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA. rbilli@lamar.colostate.edu
MeSH Terms
- Aging / physiology
- Animals
- Biomarkers / blood
- Cartilage, Articular / metabolism
- Collagen / metabolism
- Female
- Horses / metabolism
- Male
- Osteocalcin / blood
- Peptide Fragments / blood
- Physical Conditioning, Animal / physiology
- Procollagen / blood
- Radioimmunoassay / methods
Citations
This article has been cited 10 times.- Vergara-Hernandez FB, Nielsen BD, Colbath AC. Is the Use of Bisphosphonates Putting Horses at Risk? An Osteoclast Perspective.. Animals (Basel) 2022 Jul 3;12(13).
- Logan AA, Nielsen BD. Training Young Horses: The Science behind the Benefits.. Animals (Basel) 2021 Feb 9;11(2).
- Matheson A, Regmi SC, Jay GD, Schmidt TA, Scott WM. The Effect of Intense Exercise on Equine Serum Proteoglycan-4/Lubricin.. Front Vet Sci 2020;7:599287.
- Much ML, Leatherwood JL, Martinez RE, Silvers BL, Basta CF, Gray LF, Bradbery AN. Evaluation of an oral joint supplement on gait kinematics and biomarkers of cartilage metabolism and inflammation in mature riding horses.. Transl Anim Sci 2020 Jul;4(3):txaa150.
- Silvers BL, Leatherwood JL, Arnold CE, Nielsen BD, Huseman CJ, Dominguez BJ, Glass KG, Martinez RE, Much ML, Bradbery AN. Effects of aquatic conditioning on cartilage and bone metabolism in young horses.. J Anim Sci 2020 Aug 1;98(8).
- Turlo AJ, Cywinska A, Frisbie DD. Revisiting predictive biomarkers of musculoskeletal injury in thoroughbred racehorses: longitudinal study in polish population.. BMC Vet Res 2019 Feb 26;15(1):66.
- MacNicol JL, Lindinger MI, Pearson W. A time-course evaluation of inflammatory and oxidative markers following high-intensity exercise in horses: a pilot study.. J Appl Physiol (1985) 2018 Apr 1;124(4):860-865.
- Legrand CB, Lambert CJ, Comblain FV, Sanchez C, Henrotin YE. Review of Soluble Biomarkers of Osteoarthritis: Lessons From Animal Models.. Cartilage 2017 Jul;8(3):211-233.
- van de Water E, Oosterlinck M, Dumoulin M, Korthagen NM, van Weeren PR, van den Broek J, Everts H, Pille F, van Doorn DA. The preventive effects of two nutraceuticals on experimentally induced acute synovitis.. Equine Vet J 2017 Jul;49(4):532-538.
- Firth EC. The response of bone, articular cartilage and tendon to exercise in the horse.. J Anat 2006 Apr;208(4):513-26.
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