Abstract

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a common condition for which there are few preventive therapies. A reliable method of detecting and measuring progression in the early stages of disease when intervention may prove more beneficial is needed. This project used fluorescent, collagen type II targeted nanosomes to detect and quantify the level of damage in OA. IVIS imaging of intraarticular NIF-nanosomes in 1-2 year old guinea pigs with spontaneous OA and younger guinea pigs was performed. Higher binding was seen in the adult guinea pig corrleating to the amount of joint degradation. Histopathology of the joint was also performed to confirm cartilage degradation. Specific binding of nanosome conjugated to type II collagen antibodies in joints with OA was seen with IVIS imaging in a spontaneous model in guinea pigs. The increased cartilage proteolysis is believed to be responsible for unmasking type II collagen, thus increasing availability for binding of nanosomes conjugated to antibodies for type II collagen. Quantitation by IVIS software analyses and histopathological comparisons indicate that the amount of nanosome binding is proportional to the level of OA damage.