Pathological changes in the total knee joint during spontaneous knee osteoarthritis in guinea pigs at different months of age
- VernacularTitle:不同月龄豚鼠自发膝骨关节炎过程中全膝关节的病理变化
- Author:
Xiaoshen HU
1
;
Huijing LI
;
Junling LYU
;
Xianjun XIAO
;
Juan LI
;
Xiang LI
;
Ling LIU
;
Rongjiang JIN
Author Information
- Keywords: knee osteoarthritis; guinea pig; pathology; cartilage injury; synovitis; bone marrow lesion
- From: Chinese Journal of Tissue Engineering Research 2025;29(11):2218-2224
- CountryChina
- Language:Chinese
- Abstract: BACKGROUND:The guinea pig is considered to be the most useful spontaneous model for evaluating primary osteoarthritis in humans because of its similar knee joint structure and close histopathologic features to those of humans. OBJECTIVE:To investigate the pathological process of spontaneous knee osteoarthritis in guinea pigs by analyzing the histopathology of the total knee joint of guinea pigs aged 1 to 18 months. METHODS:Eight healthy female Hartley guinea pigs in each age group of 1,6,10,14,16,and 18 months old were selected.The quadriceps femoris was taken for hematoxylin-eosin staining,and the total knee joint was stained with hematoxylin-eosin and toluidine blue.The histopathology of the cartilage,subchondral bone,synovium,meniscus,and muscles were observed under light microscope.Mankin's score and synovitis score were compared,and the correlation analysis was conducted. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:As the guinea pig age increased,the Mankin's score increased(P<0.05),and the pathological score of synovitis also gradually increased(P<0.05),and there was a significant positive correlation between the two(r=0.641,P<0.001).The incidence rate of subchondral bone marrow lesion in 18-month-old guinea pigs was 50%,and the incidence of meniscus injury was 37.5%.In addition,osteophyte and narrowing of the joint space were observed,and only a few guinea pigs had inflammation in the quadriceps femoris.To conclude,guinea pigs develop significant cartilage defects,synovial inflammation,subchondral bone lesions,meniscus injury,osteophyte formation,and joint space narrowing as they age,all of which are similar to the pathological processes of primary knee osteoarthritis in humans,making it an ideal model of spontaneous knee osteoarthritis.
