Histomorphological studies on the effect of recombinant human superoxide dismutase in biochemically induced osteoarthritis.

Enzymatic scavenging of .O-2 radicals by injections of superoxide dismutase has been described to inhibit the free radical reactions resulting in tissue damage. Using a biochemically induced model of osteoarthritis (OA) in the knee joints of hens, we investigated the histomorphological alterations under therapy with recombinant human superoxide dismutase (rH-SOD) in various doses by histological-histochemical grading. Treatment of experimental OA with rH-SOD (0.1 mg/0.1 ml intra-articularly) led to a significant reduction in the intensity of cartilage degradation. The pathomorphological alterations in the osteoarthritic cartilage of hens treated with rH-SOD were quantitatively but not qualitatively different from the placebo-treated group. Our results indicate that rH-SOD exerts an inhibitory effect on the deleterious processes on articular cartilage tissue during the course of OA and may counteract cartilage degradations induced or accelerated by oxygen radicals.