Comparative transcriptomic profiling of inflamed chondrocytes and synoviocytes in horse, sheep, rabbit, and rat
Animal models are widely used to study joint inflammation and degeneration, but species-specific cellular responses can influence their translational relevance. To characterize conserved and divergent molecular pathways, we established 3D in vitro cultures of articular chondrocytes and synoviocytes from horse, sheep, rabbit, and rat. Cells were stimulated with the pro-inflammatory cytokines interleukin-1b (IL-1b) and tumor necrosis factor-a (TNF-a), and RNA sequencing was conducted to capture transcriptomic changes. This dataset serves as a comparative resource for investigating inflammation in animal joint cells and may help in evaluating suitable translational models for human joint disease.