Urine cartilage oligomeric matrix protein (COMP) measurement is useful in discriminating the osteoarthritic Thoroughbreds

To quantify the urinary concentration of cartilage oligomeric matrix protein (COMP), and to evaluate the relationship between urinary COMP concentration and the catabolic activity of synovial fluid (SF) in diseased horses.

COMP in horse urine was detected by immunoblotting with a monoclonal antibody (mAb; 14G4) raised against equine COMP from articular cartilage. Urine and serum samples were obtained from 83 Thoroughbred horses with aseptic joint diseases (AJD, 79 horses) or septic joint diseases (SJD, four horses) at the time of anesthesia induction, and samples of SF were obtained during surgery. Control samples of urine (n=111) were collected from normal horses free of any orthopedic diseases after they had been racing. COMP concentration was determined in all samples using inhibition enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) with mAb 14G4. SF samples were also used for the quantification of gelatinase activity.

Positive bands of COMP fragments were determined on the immunoblots with mAb 14G4. The urinary COMP concentrations in AJD and SJD horses (1.02+/-0.75 and 1.55+/-1.17 microg/100mg creatinine, respectively) were significantly higher than normal (0.57+/-0.29 microg/100mg creatinine). In 55 horses with fractures in the AJD group there was a logarithmic relationship (r=-0.45, P<0.001) between the urinary and SF COMP measurements, while the urinary COMP level was positively correlated with matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-2 and -9 activities (r=0.30, P<0.05 and r=0.51, P<0.001, respectively) in SF.

The urinary COMP assay with mAb 14G4 is useful for discriminating horses with osteoarthritis. The higher COMP levels in urine from such horses would be indicative of enhanced proteolytic activity, in addition to the increased COMP levels in the diseased joints.