Modification Of Osteoarthritis In The Guinea Pig With Pulsed Low-intensity Ultrasound Treatment
aggrecan; articular-cartilage; cartilage; Cartilage repair; degeneration; double-blind trial; electromagnetic-fields; gene-expression; in-vitro; knee osteoarthritis; matrix production; Orthopedics; osteoarthritis; placebo-controlled trials; Rheumatology; therapeutic ultrasound; tissue engineered cartilage; Ultrasound
Objective: The Hartley guinea pig develops articular cartilage degeneration similar to that seen in idiopathic human osteoarthritis (OA). We investigated whether the application of pulsed low-intensity ultrasound (PLIUS) to the Hartley guinea pig joint would prevent or attenuate the progression of this degenerative process. Methods: Treatment of male Hartley guinea pigs was initiated at the onset of degeneration (8 weeks of age) to assess the ability of PLIUS to prevent OA, or at a later age (12 months) to assess the degree to which PLIUS acted to attenuate the progression of established disease. PLIUS (30 mW/cm(2)) was applied to stifle joints for 20 min/day over periods ranging from 3 to 10 months, with contralateral limbs serving as controls. Joint cartilage histology was graded according to a modified Mankin scale to evaluate treatment effect. Immunohistochemical staining for interleukin-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1ra), matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-3, MMP-13, and transforming growth factor (TGF)-beta 1 was performed on the cartilage to evaluate patterns of expression of these proteins. Results: PLIUS did not fully prevent cartilage degeneration in the prevention groups, but diminished the severity of the disease, with the treated joints showing markedly decreased surface irregularities and a much smaller degree of loss of matrix staining as compared to controls. PLIUS also attenuated disease progression in the groups with established disease, although to a somewhat lesser extent as compared to the prevention groups. Immunohistochemical staining demonstrated a markedly decreased degree of TGF-beta 1 production in the PLIUS-treated joints. This indicates less active endogenous repair, consistent with the marked reduction in cartilage degradation. Conclusions: PLIUS exhibits the ability to attenuate the progression of cartilage degeneration in an animal model of idiopathic human OA. The effect was greater in the treatment of early, rather than established, degeneration. Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of Osteoarthritis Research Society International.
Gurkan I; Ranganathan A; Yang X; Horton W E; Todman M; Huckle J; Pleshko N; Spencer R G
Osteoarthritis and Cartilage
2010
2010-05
Journal Article or Conference Abstract Publication
<a href="http://doi.org/10.1016/j.joca.2010.01.006" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">10.1016/j.joca.2010.01.006</a>
Fourier Transform Infrared Imaging Spectroscopic Analysis Of Tissue Engineered Cartilage: Histologic And Biochemical Correlations
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology; bioreactor; chondrocytes; collagen; Fourier transform infrared imaging spectroscopy; hollow fiber bioreactor; hollow-fiber; human articular-cartilage; magnetic-resonance microscopy; matrix; Medical Imaging; model; mri techniques; Nuclear Medicine &; Optics; osteoarthritis; proteoglycans; Radiology; tissue engineered cartilage; tissue engineering
The composition of cartilage is predictive of its in vivo performance. Therefore, the ability to assess its primary macromolecular components, proteoglycan (PG) and collagen, is of great importance. In the current study, we hypothesized that PG content and distribution in tissue engineered cartilage could be determined using Fourier-transform infrared imaging spectroscopy (FT-IRIS). The cartilage was grown from chondrocytes within a hollow fiber bioreactor (HFBR) system previously used extensively to study cartilage development. FT-IRIS analysis showed a gradient of PG content, with the highest content in the center near the nutritive fibers and the lowest near the interior surface of the HFBR. Further, we found significantly greater PG content in the region near culture medium inflow (45.0%) as compared to the outflow region (24.7%) (p < 0.001). This difference paralleled the biochemically determined glycosaminoglycan difference of 42.6% versus 27.8%. In addition, FT-IRIS-determined PG content at specific positions within the tissue sections correlated with histologically determined PG content (R=50.73, p=50.007). In summary, FT-IRIS determination of PG correlates with histological determination of PG and yields quantitatively similar results to biochemical determination of glycosaminoglycan in developing cartilage. (c) 2005 Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers.
Kim M; Bi X H; Horton W E; Spencer R G; Camacho N P
Journal of Biomedical Optics
2005
2005-05
Journal Article or Conference Abstract Publication
<a href="http://doi.org/10.1117/1.1922329" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">10.1117/1.1922329</a>