Journal Articles
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Item Infrared Spectroscopy of Synovial Fluid Shows Accuracy as an Early Biomarker in an Equine Model of Traumatic Osteoarthritis(MDPI (Basel, Switzerland), 2024-03-22) Panizzi L; Vignes M; Dittmer KE; Waterland MR; Rogers CW; Sano H; McIlwraith CW; Riley CB; Kaneps AJOsteoarthritis is a leading cause of lameness and joint disease in horses. A simple, economical, and accurate diagnostic test is required for routine screening for OA. This study aimed to evaluate infrared (IR)-based synovial fluid biomarker profiling to detect early changes associated with a traumatically induced model of equine carpal osteoarthritis (OA). Unilateral carpal OA was induced arthroscopically in 9 of 17 healthy thoroughbred fillies; the remainder served as Sham-operated controls. The median age of both groups was 2 years. Synovial fluid (SF) was obtained before surgical induction of OA (Day 0) and weekly until Day 63. IR absorbance spectra were acquired from dried SF films. Following spectral pre-processing, predictive models using random forests were used to differentiate OA, Sham, and Control samples. The accuracy for distinguishing between OA and any other joint group was 80%. The classification accuracy by sampling day was 87%. For paired classification tasks, the accuracies by joint were 75% for OA vs. OA Control and 70% for OA vs. Sham. The accuracy for separating horses by group (OA vs. Sham) was 68%. In conclusion, SF IR spectroscopy accurately discriminates traumatically induced OA joints from controls.Item Plasma and Synovial Fluid Cell-Free DNA Concentrations Following Induction of Osteoarthritis in Horses(MDPI (Basel, Switzerland), 2023-03-14) Panizzi L; Dittmer KE; Vignes M; Doucet JS; Gedye K; Waterland MR; Rogers CW; Sano H; McIlwraith CW; Riley CB; Zucca EBiomarkers for osteoarthritis (OA) in horses have been extensively investigated, but translation into clinical use has been limited due to cost, limited sensitivity, and practicality. Identifying novel biomarkers that overcome these limitations could facilitate early diagnosis and therapy. This study aimed to compare the concentrations of synovial fluid (SF) and plasma cell-free DNA (cfDNA) over time in control horses with those with induced carpal OA. Following an established model, unilateral carpal OA was induced in 9 of 17 healthy Thoroughbred fillies, while the remainder were sham-operated controls. Synovial fluid and plasma samples were obtained before induction of OA (Day 0) and weekly thereafter until Day 63, and cfDNA concentrations were determined using fluorometry. The SF cfDNA concentrations were significantly higher for OA joints than for sham-operated joints on Days 28 (median 1430 μg/L and 631 μg/L, respectively, p = 0.017) and 63 (median 1537 μg/L and 606 μg/L, respectively, p = 0.021). There were no significant differences in plasma cfDNA between the OA and the sham groups after induction of carpal OA. Plasma cfDNA measurement is not sufficiently sensitive for diagnostic purposes in this induced model of OA. Synovial fluid cfDNA measurement may be used as a biomarker to monitor early disease progression in horses with OA.Item Growth and Bone Development in the Horse: When Is a Horse Skeletally Mature?(MDPI (Basel, Switzerland), 2021-11-29) Rogers CW; Gee EK; Dittmer KE; Arfuso FWithin the lay literature, and social media in particular, there is often debate about the age at which a horse should be started and introduced to racing or sport. To optimize the welfare and longevity of horses in racing and sport, it is important to match exercise with musculoskeletal development and the ability of the musculoskeletal system to respond to loading. The justification for not exercising horses at a certain age is often in contrast to the scientific literature and framed, with incorrect generalizations, with human growth. This review provides a relative comparison of the growth and development of the horse to the descriptors used to define growth and development in humans. Measures of physeal closure and somatic growth demonstrate that the horse completes the equivalent of rapid infant growth by weaning (4-6 months old). At approximately 11 months old, the horse completes the equivalent of the childhood phase of growth and enters puberty. At 2 years old, the horse has achieved most measures of maturity used within the human literature, including the plateauing of vertical height, closure of growth plates, and adult ratios of back length:wither height and limb length:wither height. These data support the hypothesis that the horse evolved to be a precocious cursorial grazer and is capable of athletic activity, and use in sport, relatively early in life.Item Undetectable vitamin D3 in equine skin irradiated with ultraviolet light(Japanese Society of Equine Science, 2022-09-29) Azarpeykan S; Gee EK; Thompson KG; Dittmer KEVitamin D requirements for most animals are expected to be fulfilled through daily exposure of the skin to solar ultraviolet B radiation. The synthesis of vitamin D3 in skin depends on different factors including melanin pigmentation, the amount of UVB radiation reaching the skin, type of clothing/hair coat, latitude and altitude, season, and time of day. Alternatively vitamin D2 may be obtained from UVB irradiated pasture species. Recent studies have shown that in unsupplemented grazing horses 25-hydroxyvitamin D2 is the predominant form of vitamin D in plasma, and that 25OHD3 is undetectable suggesting horses may rely on diet to obtain vitamin D. In order to mimic the natural environment of skin to sunlight exposure, five equine and two ovine devitalized skin samples were irradiated with 5 J/cm2 of UVB light followed by measurement of 7-dehydrocholesterol (7-DHC) and vitamin D3 concentrations using reverse-phase high pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC). HPLC revealed the presence of 7-DHC in the skin of both horses and sheep. Vitamin D3 was undetectable in both ovine and equine skin prior to irradiation, but after irradiation with UVB light, ovine skin showed an increase in vitamin D3 concentration (mean 0.16 ± 0.07 µg/g), whereas vitamin D3 was undetectable in equine skin. These results provide additional evidence that horses make negligible quantities of vitamin D3 in their skin after exposure to UVB light and may therefore rely on their diet as a primary source of vitamin D.