Source: LOUISIANA STATE UNIVERSITY submitted to
STEM CELLS FOR EQUINE BONE REGENERATION
Sponsoring Institution
National Institute of Food and Agriculture
Project Status
COMPLETE
Funding Source
ANIMAL HEALTH
Reporting Frequency
Annual
Accession No.
0212757
Grant No.
(N/A)
Cumulative Award Amt.
(N/A)
Proposal No.
(N/A)
Multistate No.
(N/A)
Project Start Date
Sep 1, 2007
Project End Date
Jun 30, 2008
Grant Year
(N/A)
Program Code
[(N/A)]- (N/A)
Recipient Organization
LOUISIANA STATE UNIVERSITY
202 HIMES HALL
BATON ROUGE,LA 70803-0100
Performing Department
VETERINARY CLINICAL SCIENCES
Non Technical Summary
Over 80% of horses killed in US racing or training sustain a fracture. Despite decades of research, equine fracture treatment is fraught with difficulty as exemplified by Barbaro, the 2007 Kentucky Derby champion. Acceleration of equine bone healing by application of adult stem cells may contribute to successful fracture treatment. This study is designed to advance equine health by shifting the paradigm of equine fracture treatment.
Animal Health Component
(N/A)
Research Effort Categories
Basic
50%
Applied
(N/A)
Developmental
50%
Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)Subject of Investigation (SOI)Field of Science (FOS)Percent
30538101020100%
Knowledge Area
305 - Animal Physiological Processes;

Subject Of Investigation
3810 - Horses, ponies, and mules;

Field Of Science
1020 - Physiology;
Goals / Objectives
Objective 1. To evaluate the osteogenic capacity of equine ASCs and MSCs with various scaffolds. Objective 2. To evaluate the in vivo osteogenic capacity of equine ASCs and MSCs in combination with biomaterial scaffolds.
Project Methods
Objective 1. ASCs and MSCs harvested from four equine donors will be seeded into each of two osteoinductive biomaterials and implanted subcutaneously in nude mice. Cell loading seeding will be assessed with scanning electron microscopy. Bone formation will be compared between loaded implants with serial radiographs, light microscopy (calcified), and micro-computed tomography (micro-CT). Objective 2. Autologous stem cells will be seeded onto two different scaffolds and implanted into partial thickness MC3 cortical defects. Controls will be unfilled defects and defects filled with scaffolds alone. Bone formation will be monitored by serial x-ray analysis. Twelve weeks after surgery, bone healing will be assessed with micro-CT, histomorphometric analysis, RT-PCR quantification of bone specific mRNA levels, and compositional analysis.

Progress 09/01/07 to 06/30/08

Outputs
OUTPUTS: As indicated in objective 1, adult equine stem cells were isolated, expanded and characterized from several horses. Additionally, a bioreactor was designed and implemented for cell loading onto scaffolds. In vitro optimization was underway. Due to loss of all laboratory stem cell stocks stored in the LSU School of Veterinary Medicine core facility, it was necessary to harvest, isolate, expand and characterize the adult stem cell stocks once more. This precluded completion of the study as originally planned. However, studies are currently underway to optimize stem cell loading and scaffold interactions. It is anticipated that optimized implants will be validated in a nude mouse model. Abstracts detailing the results of the study will be submitted for presentation consideration at the American College of Veterinary Surgeons Annual Symposium and the Annual Meeting of the Orthopaedic Research Society. PARTICIPANTS: This project permitted continued collaboration between the University of California-Davis, Pennington Biomedical Research Center, and Louisiana State University. Funding provided for this proposal supported PhD dissertation research (Lin Xie) TARGET AUDIENCES: The target audiences for the results of this study are equine surgeons and practitioners, horse owners, veterinary students, and orthopedic resaerchers. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Due to the loss of all adult stem cells in an LSU School of Veterinary Medicine core facility, it was not possible to complete all of the objectives as originally proposed. Additionally, it was necessary to extend the time line for objective 1. It is anticipated that objective 1 will be completed as proposed and the results will be shared in abstract and manuscript format.

Impacts
Funding provided by this proposal allowed the isolation, expansion, and characterization of adipose and marrow derived adult stem cells from horses. Additionally, the funding made possible the design and implementation of a bioreactor with which to load equine stem cells on scaffolds for implantation. This allows the study of stem cell-matrix interactions which are critical for future clinical applications.

Publications

  • No publications reported this period