NEW ARTHRITIS TREATMENT SHOWS PROMISE

A biological product under development at North Carolina State University (NCSU) shows promise as a therapy for osteoarthritis in horses.

The treatment, called BIOPLY, is a specialized type of platelet-rich plasma (PRP), a biologic product made by processing whole blood to concentrate platelets and amplify healing and growth factors. An injectable therapy, PRP is generally derived from each horse’s own blood to treat inflammation associated with soft-tissue injuries or arthritis.

While conventional PRP products have between two and 10 times the platelets of whole blood, BIO-PLY has 50 times more and undergoes extensive processing to include only certain proteins and platelets, according to Lauren V. Schnabel, DVM, PhD, DACVS, DACVSMR, who presented her research at the 2020 American Association of Equine Practitioners virtual convention.

In addition, Schnabel says, the BIO-PLY product is a “pooled” allogeneic product, meaning it is produced from the blood of many horses and then can be used to treat any horse. By using blood from several horses, “you are able to capitalize on the natural variability that exists between individuals,” says Schnabel, and have a product “with the best that every individual has to offer.” Schnabel and her colleagues have filed for a patent on BIO-PLY.

In an in-vitro study, the NCSU researchers mimicked osteoarthritis inflammatory conditions in cultured samples of chondrocyte and synovial cells—those that make up the cushioning cartilage and are responsible for the lubricating synovial fluid in joints. Researchers then added one of four treatments to the inflamed cells: BIO-PLY, a steroid, hyaluronic acid, or nothing to serve as a control. After 72 hours they measured a number of factors, including hyaluronic-acid protein levels, gene activity in chondrocytes to produce collagen, and gene activity in synovial cells to produce hyaluronic acid and other anti-inflammatory agents.

The data showed that, compared to other treatments, BIO-PLY significantly increased the expression of genes that produce high-molecular-weight hyaluronic acid (production of low-weight hyaluronic acid is a hallmark of joints affected by osteoarthritis). In addition, the BIO-PLY treated samples had lower amounts of gene expression for some inflammatory factors.

Schnabel says that more research is needed, but that these results indicate that BIO-PLY

“warrants further investigation as a novel [osteoarthritis] therapeutic.”