Trunk and pelvis biomechanical responses in children with cerebral palsy and with typical development during horseback riding.

Background: Children with cerebral palsy (CP) have poor postural control. Horseback riding (HR) is an alternative treatment shown to improve postural control among children with CP. However, there is a paucity of research investigating the underlying mechanisms responsible for improving postural control during HR.

TGF-β1 upregulates the expression of hyaluronan synthase 2 and hyaluronan synthesis in culture models of equine articular chondrocytes.

We investigated the effect of transforming growth factor beta 1 (TGF-β1) on equine hyaluronan synthase 2 () gene expression and hyaluronan (HA) synthesis in culture models of articular chondrocytes. Equine chondrocytes were treated with TGF-β1 at different concentrations and times in monolayer cultures. In three-dimensional cultures, chondrocyte-seeded gelatin scaffolds were cultured in chondrogenic media containing 10 ng/mL of TGF-β1.

Andrographolide Exerts Chondroprotective Activity in Equine Cartilage Explant and Suppresses Interleukin-1 β -Induced MMP-2 Expression in Equine Chondrocyte Culture.

Cartilage erosion in degenerative joint diseases leads to lameness in affected horses. It has been reported that andrographolide from Andrographis paniculata inhibited cartilage matrix-degrading enzymes. This study aimed to explore whether this compound protects equine cartilage degradation in the explant culture model and to determine its effect on matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2) expression, a matrix-degrading enzyme, in equine chondrocyte culture.

Effects of hypoxia on glucose transport in primary equine chondrocytes in vitro and evidence of reduced GLUT1 gene expression in pathologic cartilage in vivo.

Articular chondrocytes exist in an environment lacking in oxygen and nutrients due to the avascular nature of cartilage. The main source of metabolic energy is glucose, which is taken up by glucose transporters (GLUTs). In diseased joints, oxygen tensions and glucose availability alter as a result of inflammation and changes in vascularisation.

Assessment of the use of RNA quality metrics for the screening of articular cartilage specimens from clinically normal dogs and dogs with osteoarthritis.

Objective: To assess 2 methods of RNA purification by use of different quality metrics and identify the most useful metric for quality assessment of RNA extracted from articular cartilage from dogs with osteoarthritis.

Sample Population: 40 articular cartilage specimens from the femoral heads of 3 clinically normal dogs and 37 dogs with osteoarthritis.

Procedures: RNA was extracted from articular cartilage by 2 purification methods.