Date of Award

5-2007

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Legacy Department

Animal and Veterinary Sciences

Committee Chair/Advisor

Ellis, Steven E

Abstract

Osteoarthritis is a leading cause of chronic lameness in horses. Many treatment options for osteoarthritis have limited effectiveness and are expensive. Treatments that stimulate cartilage development may promote cartilage healing. Bovine supramammary lymph nodes are available at no cost and contain bioactive growth factors that could promote cartilage healing. The purpose of this study was to measure the proliferative response of equine chondrocytes to bovine lymph node proteins. Chondrocytes were harvested from adult horses. Lymph node extract (LNE) was prepared by mixing freeze-dried lymph node powder with PBS. Experiments compared BGS and LNE on equal and unequal protein bases. Additional experiments investigated LNE fractions, and the proliferative response to IGF-I and TGF-. DNA accumulation was measured using the CyQUANT DNA assay. LNE stimulated chondrocyte proliferation to an equal or greater degree than BGS, suggesting LNE could promote cartilage healing and potentially form the basis for new osteoarthritis therapies.

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