Interleukin-10 protects against blood-induced joint damage.

Despite prophylactic treatment, haemophilia patients suffer from spontaneous joint bleeds, which lead to severe joint damage. Also after joint trauma, an intra-articular haemorrhage can add to joint damage over time. This study evaluated interleukin 10 (IL-10) in the search for possible interventions to prevent or limit the damaging effects of joint bleeds.

Initiation of degenerative joint damage by experimental bleeding combined with loading of the joint: a possible mechanism of hemophilic arthropathy.

Objective: To investigate the effect of a limited number of experimental joint bleedings, combined with loading of the affected joint, on the development of progressive degenerative joint damage.

Methods: The right knee of 8 mature beagle dogs was injected with freshly collected autologous blood 3 times per week for 4 weeks, to mimic a limited number of joint hemorrhages occurring over a short period. To ensure loading of the experimental joint, the contralateral control knee of the animals was fixed to the trunk 4 hours per day, 3 days per week.

Short-term exposure of cartilage to blood results in chondrocyte apoptosis.

Studies have shown that joint bleeding leads to cartilage degradation independent of concurrent synovitis. We hypothesized that the blood-induced cartilage damage is because of increased chondrocyte apoptosis after short-term exposure of whole blood or isolated mononuclear cells plus red blood cells to cartilage. Human cartilage tissue samples were co-cultured for 4 days with whole blood (50% v/v) or with mononuclear cells plus red blood cells (50% v/v equivalents).

Immature articular cartilage is more susceptible to blood-induced damage than mature articular cartilage: an in vivo animal study.

Objective: Cartilage of young but skeletally mature dogs is more susceptible to blood-induced damage than that of old dogs. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether cartilage of skeletally immature individuals is even more adversely affected by exposure to blood than that of mature individuals, as suggested by clinical practice experience with humans.

Methods: Right knees of 3 groups of 6 beagle dogs (skeletally immature, young mature, and old animals) were injected with autologous blood on days 0 and 2.

Blood-induced joint damage: longterm effects in vitro and in vivo.

Objective: We previously showed that 4-day in vitro exposure of human cartilage to blood, as well as a single experimental joint bleeding in dogs, resulted in a disturbed cartilage matrix turnover lasting at least 2 weeks. We now evaluate the longterm outcome of the adverse in vitro and in vivo effects of blood on cartilage matrix turnover.

Methods: Human and canine articular cartilage tissue was cultured in the presence of homologous whole blood during 4 days.