title: Nitric oxide and metalloproteinases in canine articular ligaments: a comparison between the cranial cruciate, the medial genual collateral and the femoral head ligament.
abstract: Osteoarthritis due to cranial cruciate ligament (CCL) rupture or hip dysplasia is one of the most important causes of chronic lameness in dogs. This study aimed at comparing nitric oxide (NO) production by the CCL with that of the femoral head ligament (FHL) and the medial collateral ligament (MCL), and investigating the pathway of NO production and the concomitant metalloproteinase (MMP) activity in the presence or absence of an inflammatory stimulus. Ligaments of normal dogs were subjected to different stimuli, and NO and MMP activity from explant culture supernatants were compared. The results showed that in explant cultures of the canine CCL more NO was produced than in those of the other two ligaments. A higher level of NO was produced when CCLs were exposed to the inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS)-inducing cocktail TNF/IL-1/LPS, and NO synthesis could be inhibited by both l-NMMA, a general nitric oxide synthase (NOS) inhibitor and l-NIL, a specific iNOS inhibitor. However, a correlation between NO synthesis and iNOS expression levels as determined by immunohistochemistry was not observed. In contrast to CCL, no evidence for iNOS-dependent NO synthesis was observed for MCL and FHL. The CCL produced less MMP than MCL and FHL, and no correlation between MMP and NO could be demonstrated. MMP activity in the CCL increased significantly after 48 h of incubation with the inflammatory stimulus. The results suggest that in canine osteoarthritis NO synthesized by canine CCL plays a more important role in the pathogenesis of osteoarthritis of the stifle than that synthesized by FHL and MCL.
authors.affiliation: Divisions of Small Animal Surgery and Orthopedics, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Bern, Länggassstrasse 128, Bern, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Elisabeth
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Louis
authors.forename: Katharina A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Remer
authors.forename: Marcus G
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Doherr
authors.forename: Ulf
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Neumann
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Jungi
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Schawalder
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Spreng
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004283:Dog Diseases / Q000201:enzymology / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D004285:Dogs; D005260:Female; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D008023:Ligaments, Articular / Q000201:enzymology / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D020782:Matrix Metalloproteinases / Q000378:metabolism*; D009569:Nitric Oxide / Q000378:metabolism*; D052247:Nitric Oxide Synthase Type II / Q000378:metabolism; D010003:Osteoarthritis / Q000201:enzymology / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology / Q000662:veterinary*
chemical_list: D009569:Nitric Oxide; D052247:Nitric Oxide Synthase Type II; D020782:Matrix Metalloproteinases