Determination of inflammatory and anabolic joint markers in stabled young horses with tarsocrural ostechondrosis

Objective. To describe the concentrations in synovial fluid (SF) of prostaglandin E2 (PGE2), nitric oxide (NO), hyaluronic acid (HA) and total protein (TP) in stabled young horses with tarsocrural OC and correlate the values of these markers with the SF total cell count the degree of synovial effusion (SE) and the degree of lameness (LD). Materials and methods. A PGE2 SF concentration was determined by ELISA, NO was determined by the Greiss reaction, HA was measured by RIA and TP by refractometry. Results. Eleven horses between 8-36 months were included. The median grades of SE and LD were 1.5 (range (R): 0.5-2) and 0 (R: 0-2), respectively. Median value for PGE2 was 130.6 pg/mL (R: 41-231.7 pg/mL). Median value for NO was 2.92 mM (R: 1.3-6.3 mM). Median value for HA was 312.4 mg/mL (R: 70-543.5 mg/mL). The average concentration for TP was 1.2±-0.36 g/dL. Statistically significant negative correlations between the concentrations of HA in synovial fluid and the degree of synovial effusion (ñ =-0.7, p = 0.048) and degree of lameness (ñ =-0.78, p = 0.014) were observed. Conclusions. The concentration of HA in LS of horses with OC may be negatively correlated with the severity of clinical symptoms.