In vivo and in vitro Chondrocyte Metabolism in Relationship to the Developemnt of Tibial Dyschondroplasia in Broiler Chickens

Abstract

Skeletal deformities are a significant financial and welfare problem for the world poultry industry. Tibial dyschondroplasia (TD) is the most prevalent skeletal abnormality found in young broilers, turkeys and ducks. Tibial dyschondroplasia results from a perturbation of the sequence of events in the epiphyseal growth plate, the tissue responsible for longitudinal bone growth. The purpose of this investigation was to test the hypothesis that TD was the result of a failure of growth plate chondrocytes to differentiate and express the chemotactic molecules required for cartilage vascularization. In this investigation in situ hybridization and immunocytochemical techniques were used to study chondrocyte gene products associated with cartilage maturation and vascularization such as osteopontin, osteonectin, type X collagen, and alkaline phosphatase. All markers were present in the growth plate tissue anter or to the TD lesion but were greatly diminished in the TD lesion. Thus, rather than not acquiring the markers for hypertrophy, it appears that the growth plate chondrocytes reach a certain stage of hypertrophy and then de-differentiate into cells which resemble chondrocytes in the prehypertrophic zone. Similar patterns were observed in all TD tissues examined whether the lesions were spontaneous or induced by dietary treatments or genetic selection. The decrease in gene expression can at least be partially explained by the fact that many of the dysplastic chondrocytes show classic signs of apoptosis. These results provide an explanation for the observation that a variety of genes show reduced expression in the TD lesion when examined by in situ hybridization. This would suggest that future research should focus on the earliest detectable stages in the development of TD and examine endocrine and autocrine factors which cause chondrocytes to de-differentiate and undergo premature apoptosis.