Comparison of the chondroprotective effect of a novel hydrogel compound and traditional hyaluronat on the rats' cartilage in a papain induced osteoarthritis model

Abstract

Purpose: The aim of this experimental study is to evaluate the efficacy of a novel intra-articular drug in a papain induced osteoarthirits (OA) rat model and compare with the traditional hyaluronat (HA) viscosupplementation. 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 2 mL of sterile saline solution (0,9%), group 2 was injected 2 mL HA and the group 3 was injected 2 mL of HA-CS-NAG (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). Conclusion: HA-CS-NAG compound in hydrogel form is more chondroprotective to rats' cartilage when compared to HA during the early stages of OA. DOI: 10.3944/AOTT.2016.15.0395 This abstract belongs to the un-edited version of the article and is only for informative purposes. Published version may differ from the current version.