[Tissue engineering: new treatment of cartilage alterations in degenerative joint diseases in horses–preliminary results of a long term study].

The study explores a new method for treating cartilage degeneration in horses’ fetlock joints via autologous cartilage repair. Preliminary results indicate that the implanted tissue integrates well with native cartilage and contributes to the formation of hyaline-like cartilage.

Study Overview

• The research aimed to address a common health issue in horses—degenerative alterations in fetlock joints, which frequently lead to competitive horses being withdrawn from competitions.
• Given that the hyaline cartilage’s regenerative capacity is low, and conventional treatments often fail to suffice, the researchers sought to establish a new treatment approach using autologous cartilage repair.

Methodology

• The researchers created artificial lesions, 8 mm in diameter, in the fetlock joints of three horses’ forelimbs before closing these defects with implants of autologous chondrocytes (the horses’ own cartilage cells). These implants were then fixed with titan-suture-anchors.
• Biopsies were taken through arthroscopy at three different stages: 3 months, 12 months, and 24 months. Two of the horses were euthanized at 9 months and 24 months, respectively, for further analysis.
• The research team examined the repair tissue both histologically (studying it under a microscope) and through biochemical analyses of substances typically related to cartilage—hydroxyproline and glycosaminoglycan.

Findings

• The researchers found that after 9 months, the implants had integrated with the native cartilage, as demonstrated through electron microscopy.
• Following 24 months, histological staining showed repair tissue morphology similar to that of the surrounding native cartilage.
• The biochemical analysis revealed the formation of hyaline-like cartilage within the tissue that contained the autologous chondrocyte transplants – indicating that the implanted cartilage had similar properties and performance to natural hyaline cartilage.

Significance

• The study’s findings suggest that the tested treatment method—implanting autologous chondrocytes—could be an effective solution to degenerative joint diseases in horses. It might serve as a way to enable affected horses to return to competitive action instead of being left out due to joint problems.
• The successful integration of implanted and native cartilage also signifies a promising pathway in tissue engineering, possibly extending the application beyond veterinary medicine to human cartilage repair treatments.