Viability of extracellular vesicles (EVs) in equine synovitis.

• Grant number: 23/18247-4
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Master
• Start date: April 01, 2024
• End date: February 28, 2026
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Veterinary Medicine - Animal Clinics and Surgery
• Principal Investigator: Ana Liz Garcia Alves
• Grantee: Lorena Cardozo Ferrari
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária e Zootecnia (FMVZ). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Botucatu. Botucatu , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Osteoarthritis is a multifactorial disease with a high incidence in horses and humans, characterized by the progressive deterioration of articular cartilage. This disease involves a joint imbalance in which the processes of degradation of proteoglycans and glycosaminoglycans in the cartilage matrix are exacerbated compared to the processes of synthesis. In other words, a predominant catabolic process. Initially, the condition characterized by inflammation is called synovitis. Many signs can be observed, including lameness, pain and, above all, functional loss which leads to a drop in the performance of athletic animals, generating social and financial impacts. Intercellular signaling becomes important for intrarticular regulation and the loss of joint homeostasis is related to significant negative regulation in the osteoarthritic microenvironment, especially of microRNA-140, which is carried by extracellular vesicles (EVs) and consequently with an increase in ADAMTS5. Thus, this project aims to evaluate the presence of EVs and quantify miRNA140 in synovial fluid from horses with synovitis, treated with mesenchymal stem cells.