Acellular placental extract outcomes in post-traumatic osteoarthritis model.

Objective: Evaluate the effect of human placental extract (HPE) on healthy and osteoarthritic articular cartilage. Method: Post-traumatic osteoarthritis (PTOA) rodent model was utilized to assess functional and histologic outcomes of HPE administration at 1, 2 and 3 months. Matrix metalloproteinase (MMP), glycosaminoglycan (GAG) content were assessed via human and porcine cartilage explants exposed to either HPE or saline cohorts. Results: Improved gait function of PTOA-induced rodents treated with HPE in 5 measured parameters, persisting to the 3-month time point against the saline control. No significant difference in medial or lateral joint space was found on MicroCT evaluation after normalizing results to the contralateral uninjured limb. OARSI scores of the medial compartment of PTOA rodents at 3-months showed preservation of cartilage in the HPE-treated cohort with a score of 1.8 for HPE versus 9.17 for saline (p < 0.05). Porcine cartilage explants co-treated with HPE and IL-1 demonstrated marked reduction of MMP-1 (p = 0.001) and MMP-13 (p = 0.0023) expression compared to IL-1 alone. This effect was re-demonstrated in human cartilage with multiple MMP decreased. Reduced levels of GAG release occurred in HPE-treated cartilage explants in comparison to saline control (p = 0.004), with maintenance of structural architecture on histologic preparations. Conclusions: HPE may be a promising treatment for OA by inhibiting the metabolic process of ECM breakdown and preserving the structural integrity of the knee joint in comparison to saline control.