Biomarkers, the ultimate tool for diagnosing osteochondrosis and osteoarthritis, with a serum sample from the individual animal

Research Project, 2019 – 2022

Osteoarthritis and osteochondrosis are two common joint diseases causing pain and subsequent lameness in race horses, cattle and pigs. The diseases are detected in their late stage, when complete healing is impossible. There is an urgent need for sensitive tools to diagnose the joint pathology early, enabling medical treatment, changes of the environment and training activity, to prevent painful destruction of the joint tissues.We have identified a specific protein fragment (biomarker) from inflamed cartilage that represent different stages of the disease, which can be measured in serum and increases with early joint lesions. The aim of the project is to create assays that can measure several biomarkers in serum samples. Our hypothesis is that the biomarkers can be used to monitor the stage of the joint pathology, the prognosis and if the lesion cause pain.The different biomarkers will be put together in a diagnostic tool to for horse, cattle and pig. It should be possible to use the assay in practice as a point of care tool.Our ultimate goal is to generate science based evidence to enable conclusions regarding recommendations for prevention, changes in animal husbandry and care, treatment evaluations and well-founded breeding strategies against disease to reduce suffering and severe chronic pain that is associated with OA and OC in animals.