Gene Therapy for Osteoarthritis: Kinematic Analysis

Entry, Cases/Abstracts
Nichole Hughes, University of Florida

Steve Ghivizzani, MD; Patrick T. Colahan, DVM; Nichole Hughes
Department of Large Animal Clinical Sciences, University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine, Gainesville FL
Department of Orthopedics and Rehabilitation, University of Florida College of Medicine,  Gainesville FL
Research supported by Merial

Osteoarthritis (OA) is one of the most prevalent diseases worldwide, causing chronic joint pain and progressive immobility due to the erosion of articular cartilage, subchondral bone sclerosis, and osteophyte formation. Though OA is widely unaffected by current treatments, experimentation has shown that local gene delivery of IL-1Ra (receptor antagonist) using scAAV (self-complimentary adeno-associated virus) vectors can have a significant effect in disease progression in animal models and allow sustained levels of IL-1Ra in the joint. This project uses kinematic analysis to evaluate the capacity of scAAV-mediated delivery of equine-IL-1Ra to block the development of experimental arthritis in the equine joint. To evaluate the therapeutic efficacy of scAAV-eqIL-1Ra, an osteochondral fragment (OCF) model is used to simulate the pathobiology of OA. After a recovery period, scAAV-eqIL-1Ra and placebo (saline) are delivered to the experimental and control groups, respectively. Motion analysis is conducted weekly on a high speed treadmill for 12 weeks. Quantifiable changes in kinematics are measured using Lameness Locator® software.

It is expected that local, intra-articular treatment with scAAV-eqIL-1Ra will provide protection from the development of the articular pathologies associated with OA.  Relative to placebo controls, treated animals should have reduced pain and improved mobility, thus resulting in a reduction in lameness as analyzed by the Lameness Locator. Thus far, only 5/20 horses have completed the project.  The kinematic analysis of these 5 horses shows that the placebo improves lameness at a rate 2.5 times faster than treatment with scAAV-eqIL-1Ra. However, it is too early to use these preliminary results to determine the overall efficacy of the therapy. Ultimately the final data from this part of the study will be compiled with MRI, radiography, arthroscopy, and data generated from recovered fluids and tissue biopsies to provide a comprehensive description of the effects of the gene based treatment. Based on these efficacy models in horses, we can gain insight on the use of gene transfer on a human scale as a therapy for osteoarthritis.

Muscovy

Entry, Creative Corner
Helen Yu, Tufts

"Shelby"

Entry, Creative Corner
Michelle Oates, University of Florida

Meet the Executive Board: Al Claiborne

This post is part of a series made to introduce you to your elected board members, and also to share a little bit about what SAVMA is working on on a national level. The officers are a group of students that are former SAVMA Delegates and were elected by their fellow Delegates to oversee the House. Keep checking back to meet the whole board!

Name, Position on EB: Al Claiborne, Treasurer

 School and Year: University of Tennessee College of Veterinary Medicine, ℅ 2014

 Hometown: GreenEville, TN

 Your area of interest within veterinary medicine: Small animal Medicine & Surgery & Practice Management

 Description of what your office entails: I write checks and give you money!  Oh, and make a budget too.

 Your favorite thing about holding that office: I enjoy working with budgets and ensuring future financial success.  Oh, and writing big checks!

 Something exciting that your office is doing/has done for vet students this past year:  We've been evaluating online dues payments to make registration as simple as possible for students.  We're also continuing to use low-risk investments to ensure the future financial health of SAVMA.

 Your favorite SAVMA related experience thus far (EB or not): Serving as the AVMA Legislative Advisory Committee liaison.  I love politics, and I love veterinary medicine.  Mixing the two made each even better.  I also enjoy meeting people, and this allowed me to meet several wonderful people in the AVMA GRD, and on the committee itself.

 Something fun about yourself: If I have free time and the weather is nice, you'll find me out on my road bike in a hypoxic state, huffing and puffing.  I certainly won't be the next Lance Armstrong (because I don't lie to the media), but riding a bike down the road is one of the most peaceful ways to enjoy the outdoors!  

EPDC Grant Winner

SAVMA's Education and Professional Development Committee offers a grant to veterinary student organizations to provide funding for wet labs or lectures supplementing their college’s curriculum.  The vision for this grant is for student organizations or clubs to design either a lecture and/or wet lab for a topic to which students would not otherwise be exposed. For a full list of award money SAVMA offers, click here. Read below for how one school used this resource:

Dr. Karen Overall

On April 16th, with the help of a SAVMA EPDC grant, Iowa State's Chapter of Animal Behavior was pleased to welcome Dr. Karen Overall, a leading veterinary behaviorist and author of Clinical Behavioral Medicine for Small Animals.  Dr. Karen Overall spoke to our student and faculty/staff population (over 130 in attendance!) about the importance of behavior in veterinary medicine, and our role as veterinarians in patient behavior.  Dr. Overall is an engaging, well-known speaker and our college population was provided the unique opportunity to learn more about veterinary behavior.  Thank you for SAVMA EPDC grant for this amazing seminar!