title: Comparison of the chondroprotective effect of a novel hydrogel compound and traditional hyaluronate on rat cartilage in a papain-induced osteoarthritis model.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The aim of this experimental study is to evaluate the efficacy of a novel intraarticular drug in a papain induced osteoarthritis (OA) rat model and compare with the traditional hyaluronat (HA) visco supplementation.
  
  
  METHODS
  An early stage OA model was induced by the intra-articular injection of papain enzyme in the right knee joints of 44 Sprague-Dawley rats. Eleven rats (eleven right knees: papain group, 11 left knees: control group) were chosen randomly 28 days after the last injection and sacrificed for verifying OA. The remaining rats (n = 33) were randomly divided into 3 groups. Group 1 was injected 0,2 mL of sterile saline solution (0,9%), group 2 was injected 0,2 mL HA and the group 3 was injected 0,2 mL of HA-CSNAG (hyaluronat, chondritin sulfate, N-acetyl-d-glucosamine) combination in the right knees. Injections were performed on the 35th, the 42nd and the 49th days consecutively. Two weeks after the last injection, all groups were sacrificed to evaluate the severity of OA according to Mankin system.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Early stage of OA was verified regarding total Mankin scores (p < 0.05). There was statistically significant difference between Group 1 and Group 2 (p < 0.05), between Group 1 and Group 3 (p < 0.05) on the 63th day regarding total Mankin scores. Group 3 showed statistically significant improvement in terms of proteoglycan content of matrix when compared to Group 2 (p < 0,05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  HA-CS-NAG compound in hydrogel form is more chondroprotective to rats' cartilage when compared to HA during the early stages of OA.
authors.affiliation: İstanbul Training and Research Hospital, Department of Orthopaedics and Traumatology, İstanbul, Turkey. Electronic address: erhan_sukur@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Erhan
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Şükür
authors.affiliation: İstanbul Training and Research Hospital, Department of Pathology, İstanbul, Turkey.
authors.forename: Canan
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Talu
authors.affiliation: Metin Sabancı Baltalimani Bone Diseases Training and Research Hospital, Department of Orthopaedics and Traumatology, İstanbul, Turkey.
authors.forename: Yunus Emre
authors.initials: YE
authors.lastname: Akman
authors.affiliation: İstanbul Training and Research Hospital, Department of Orthopaedics and Traumatology, İstanbul, Turkey.
authors.forename: Esra
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Çirci
authors.affiliation: İstanbul Training and Research Hospital, Department of Orthopaedics and Traumatology, İstanbul, Turkey.
authors.forename: Yusuf
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Öztürkmen
authors.affiliation: İstanbul Training and Research Hospital, Department of Orthopaedics and Traumatology, İstanbul, Turkey.
authors.forename: Tolga
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Tüzüner
mesh_terms: D000117:Acetylglucosamine / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D000818:Animals; D002358:Cartilage, Articular / Q000187:drug effects*; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D005260:Female; D006820:Hyaluronic Acid / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D020100:Hydrogels / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D007270:Injections, Intra-Articular; D007719:Knee Joint / Q000187:drug effects*; D020370:Osteoarthritis, Knee / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000188:drug therapy*; D010206:Papain / Q000009:adverse effects; D011897:Random Allocation; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley
chemical_list: D020100:Hydrogels; D006820:Hyaluronic Acid; D010206:Papain; D000117:Acetylglucosamine
keywords: Chondroprotective; Hyaluronic acid; Mankin score; Papain induced osteoarthritis; Rat