Comparative effectiveness of two methods for inducing osteoarthritis in a novel animal model, the Diannan small-ear pig

Di Jia,Yanlin Li,Ruixian Zhang,Yuye Yang,Yinghong He,Guofeng Cai,Jiali Zheng

doi:10.1186/s13018-021-02734-6

Abstract

BackgroundVarieties of animals were used to study osteoarthritis pathogenesis. The Diannan small-ear pig, which is native to Yunnan, China, is thought to have an articular anatomy similar to that of humans and is more likely to be a source of pathological tissues than other animals. The aim of this study was to determine whether this animal can serve as a more effective osteoarthritis model and explore the role of SDF-1/CXCR4 signaling pathway in the development of Osteoarthritis in animals.MethodsTwenty-seven adult pigs were randomly divided into three groups and underwent the Hulth procedure, papain articular injection, and conventional breeding. After 4, 8, and 12 weeks, cartilage tissues from knee joint were extracted for general and histological observation, immunofluorescence, and biochemical analysis. Synovium was taken out for stromal cell-derived factor-1 analysis.ResultsHistopathological observation showed obvious cartilage loss in two experimental groups, this cartilage loss was more severe in the chemical groups. Synovial stromal cell-derived factor1 levels increased over time in all groups. mRNA and protein levels of matrix metalloproteinase-3 were much higher in the chemical groups than in the other groups, whereas levels of collagen type II and aggrecan were significantly lower in the chemical groups than in the other groups. Immunofluorescence assays of collagen type II revealed an apparent reduction in this marker in the chemical groups compared with the other groups.ConclusionsThese results indicated that the Diannan small-ear pig can be used as an effective osteoarthritis model. In addition, it is much more convenient and much faster to induce osteoarthritis by intra-articular injection of papain, which is a method worthy of being promoted.

Highlights

Varieties of animals were used to study osteoarthritis pathogenesis
The pig was used because it has similarity to human in terms of anatomy, physiology, and pathology, which shows an advantage in disease models and pharmaceutical research [11]
This study addressed the issues of obtaining well-documented evidence for whether the Diannan small-ear pig can be regarded as an effective OA model and whether we can identify a better way of OA modeling

Summary

Introduction

Varieties of animals were used to study osteoarthritis pathogenesis. The Diannan small-ear pig, which is native to Yunnan, China, is thought to have an articular anatomy similar to that of humans and is more likely to be a source of pathological tissues than other animals. Osteoarthritis (OA) is a multifactorial disease characterized on the basis of structural changes in articular cartilage and periarticular bone [1,2,3,4]. Small animals have been selected to study OA and to determine disease-specific biomarkers for better OA. It is difficult to obtain enough pathological tissues in small animals (mouse, rat, and rabbit), on an eroded cartilage surface. The pig was used because it has similarity to human in terms of anatomy, physiology, and pathology, which shows an advantage in disease models and pharmaceutical research [11]

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Conclusion