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Quantitative evaluation of very early cartilage damage in experimental osteoarthritis using scanning electron
Virgínia Cláudia Carneiro Girão-Carmona1, Mirna Marques Bezerra2, Fernanda Maria Aragão Ximenes Porto1
1Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade Federal do Ceará, Postgraduate Program in Morphological Sciences, Universidade Federal do Ceará, Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil.
Objective:
To describe parametric changes observed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) in very early stages in posttraumatic osteoarthritis (OA) models in mice.
Methods:
Mice (5/group) had their knees subjected to anterior cruciate ligament transection (ACLT), ACLT plus meniscectomy (MNCT) or sham surgery, sacrificed after 3, 7 or 14 days, had the articular cartilage evaluated under optical microscopy using Osteoarthritis Research Society International (OARSI) parameters as well as cartilage thickness, roughness, and a damage index using SEM.
Results:
Alterations of the cartilage under optical microscopy were not significantly relevant among groups. SEM analysis revealed reduction of femoral and tibial cartilage thickness in ACLT and MNCT groups at 7 and 14 days, with increased cartilage roughness in MNCT group as early as 3 days postsurgery, being sustained up to 14 days. Articular damage index was significantly higher at 14 days post surgery in ACLT and MNCT vs control groups.
Conclusion:
This is the first demonstration of very early quantitative changes in the cartilage of mice subjected to posttraumatic experimental OA using SEM, revealing increased roughness and thickness as early as 3 days post surgery. These changes may be used as early surrogates for later joint damage in experimental OA.
