title: Menisectomized miniature Vietnamese pigs develop articular cartilage pathology resembling osteoarthritis.
abstract: Animal models have been used to understand the basic biology of osteoarthritis (OA) and have helped to identify new candidate biomarkers for the early diagnosis and treatment of this condition. Small animals cannot sufficiently mimic human diseases; therefore, large animal models are needed. Pigs have been used as models for human diseases because they are similar to humans in terms of their anatomy, physiology and genome. Hence, we analyzed articular cartilage and synovial membrane pathology in miniature Vietnamese pigs after a unilateral partial menisectomy and 20-day exercise regimen to determine if the pigs developed pathological characteristics similar to human OA. Histological and protein expression analysis of articular cartilage from menisectomized pigs revealed the following pathologic changes resembling OA: fibrillation, fissures, chondrocyte cluster formation, decrease in proteoglycan content and upregulation of the OA-associated proteins MMP-3, MMP-13, procaspase-3 and IL-1β. Moreover, histological analysis of synovial membrane revealed mild synovitis, characterized by hyperplasia, cell infiltration and neoangiogenesis. Pathological changes were not observed in the contralateral joints or the joints of sham-operated pigs. Further studies are required to validate such an OA model; however, our results can encourage the use of pigs to study early stages of OA physiopathology. Based on their similarities to humans, pigs may be useful for preclinical studies to identify new candidate biomarkers and novel treatments for OA.
authors: Departamento de Infectómica y Patogénesis Molecular, Centro de Investigación y de Estudios Avanzados del Instituto Politécnico Nacional (CINVESTAV-IPN), México D.F., México.
authors: Raymundo
authors: R
authors: Cruz
authors: Departamento de Infectómica y Patogénesis Molecular, Centro de Investigación y de Estudios Avanzados del Instituto Politécnico Nacional (CINVESTAV-IPN), México D.F., México.
authors: Carmen
authors: C
authors: Ramírez
authors: Departamento de Infectómica y Patogénesis Molecular, Centro de Investigación y de Estudios Avanzados del Instituto Politécnico Nacional (CINVESTAV-IPN), México D.F., México.
authors: Oscar I
authors: OI
authors: Rojas
authors: Departamento de Infectómica y Patogénesis Molecular, Centro de Investigación y de Estudios Avanzados del Instituto Politécnico Nacional (CINVESTAV-IPN), México D.F., México.
authors: Oscar
authors: O
authors: Casas-Mejía
authors: Departamento de Infectómica y Patogénesis Molecular, Centro de Investigación y de Estudios Avanzados del Instituto Politécnico Nacional (CINVESTAV-IPN), México D.F., México. Electronic address: bkouri@cinvestav.mx.
authors: Juan B
authors: JB
authors: Kouri
authors: Departamento de Infectómica y Patogénesis Molecular, Centro de Investigación y de Estudios Avanzados del Instituto Politécnico Nacional (CINVESTAV-IPN), México D.F., México. Electronic address: mavega@cinvestav.mx.
authors: Marco A
authors: MA
authors: Vega-López
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D015153:Blotting, Western; D002358:Cartilage, Articular / Q000473:pathology*; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D005260:Female; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008297:Male; D008592:Menisci, Tibial / Q000601:surgery*; D010003:Osteoarthritis / Q000473:pathology*; D010805:Physical Conditioning, Animal; D013552:Swine; D013556:Swine, Miniature; D013583:Synovial Membrane / Q000473:pathology
keywords: Animal models; Cartilage; Exercise; Osteoarthritis