The BMP7-Derived Peptide p[63-82] Reduces Cartilage Degeneration in the Rat ACLT-pMMx Model for Posttraumatic Osteoarthritis

Ellen G. J. Ripmeester, Jessica S. J. J. Steijns, Karolina A. P. Wijnands, Roderick H. M. J. Stassen, Vasek Pitelka, Laura C. W. Peeters, Andy Cremers, Nzekui M. S. A. Astryde, Alzbeta Chabronova, Don A. M. Surtel, Pieter J. Emans, Guus G. H. van den Akker, Bert van Rietbergen, Lodewijk W. van Rhijn, Marjolein M. J. Caron*, Tim J. M. Welting

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

Abstract

Objective Osteoarthritis (OA) is characterized by articular cartilage erosion, pathological subchondral bone changes, and signs of synovial inflammation and pain. We previously identified p[63-82], a bone morphogenetic protein 7 (BMP7)-derived bioactive peptide that attenuates structural cartilage degeneration in the rat medial meniscal tear-model for posttraumatic OA. This study aimed to evaluate the cartilage erosion-attenuating activity of p[63-82] in a different preclinical model for OA (anterior cruciate ligament transection-partial medial meniscectomy [anterior cruciate ligament transection (ACLT)-pMMx]). The disease-modifying action of the p[63-82] was followed-up in this model for 5 and 10 weeks.Design Skeletally mature male Lewis rats underwent ACLT-pMMx surgery. Rats received weekly intra-articular injections with either saline or 500 ng p[63-82]. Five and 10 weeks postsurgery, rats were sacrificed, and subchondral bone characteristics were determined using microcomputed tomography (mu CT). Histopathological evaluation of cartilage degradation and Osteoarthritis Research Society International (OARSI)-scoring was performed following Safranin-O/Fast Green staining. Pain-related behavior was measured by incapacitance testing and footprint analysis.Results Histopathological evaluation at 5 and 10 weeks postsurgery showed reduced cartilage degeneration and a significantly reduced OARSI score, whereas no significant changes in subchondral bone characteristics were found in the p[63-82]-treated rats compared to the saline-treated rats. ACLT-pMMx-induced imbalance of static weightbearing capacity in the p[63-82] group was significantly improved compared to the saline-treated rats at weeks 5 postsurgery. Footprint analysis scores in the p[63-82]-treated rats demonstrated improvement at week 10 postsurgery.Conclusions Weekly intra-articular injections of p[63-82] in the rat ACLT-pMMx posttraumatic OA model resulted in reduced degenerative cartilage changes and induced functional improvement in static weightbearing capacity during follow-up.
Original languageEnglish
Number of pages12
JournalCartilage
DOIs
Publication statusE-pub ahead of print - 1 Mar 2024

Keywords

  • articular cartilage
  • osteoarthritis
  • anterior cruciate ligament tear-partial meniscectomy
  • peptides
  • subchondral bone
  • cartilage degeneration
  • pain
  • ARTICULAR-CARTILAGE
  • SUBCHONDRAL BONE
  • WEIGHT-BEARING
  • PAIN
  • SYNOVITIS
  • PATHOGENESIS
  • EFFICACY
  • DISEASE

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