Gene Therapy for Follistatin Decreases Systemic Inflammation and Pain Sensitivity following Knee Injury in High-fat Diet Induced Obese Mice

s / Osteoarthritis and Cartilage 25 (2017) S8eS75 S67 8 weeks with a slowly increasing running velocity from 10 m/min for 10 min, up to 20 m/min for 1 hour (n1⁄4 10), and a control group without running (n 1⁄4 10). Running takes place on a 5 lane motorized rodent treadmill (LE-8700; Panlab Harvard Apparatus). At starting point and after 8 weeks cartilage qPCR, micro-CT, histology and plasma FIB 3-2 (Artialis) was performed. Results: A total 24 km running within 8 weeks of this running protocol illustrates chondrocyte sensitivity and cartilage response to the mechanical loading (Fig. 1). At the end of the experiment, aggrecanwas 1.55-fold up-regulated while MMP-2 was 2.38-fold down-regulated (P < 0.05) (Fig. 1A). The histological appearance of the chondrocytes also showed load-dependency, with more hypercellularity and hypertrophy in the running group (Fig. 1B). FIB3-2 as a plasma biomarker, interacts with the tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase 3 (TIMP-3) and the elevated amount of FIB3-2 is expected in osteoarthritis samples. FIB3-2 is also known to be cleaved by several MMPs family including MMP-2. FIB3-2 levels dropped in the running group (from 52.7± 13.2 nM to 30.2± 8.4 nM) as compared to the control group (45.3 ± 15.0 nM to 33.3 ± 9.7 nM) (Fig. 1C). MicroCT analysis revealed an enhancement in bone response as a result of early moderate physical training where epiphysis bone parameters in the running group including thickness and bone volume fraction of subchondral bone tibia plateau as well as trabecular bone mass significantly increased compared with control animals (Fig. 2). Conclusions: Gradual increase of running up to a moderate level to 1120 m/h for one hour enhances aggrecan expression, reduces catabolic enzymatic activity of MMP-2 as well as increases subchondral bone thickness in the epiphysis area and leads to hypercellularity and hypertrophy of the chondrocytes. Conclusively, a moderate exercise program can significantly influence both bone remodeling and cartilage tissue adaptation. Fig. 1. (A) Aggrecan and MMP-2 gene expression. The values are expressed as a Log2. GAPDH and ACTB1 were used as reference genes (B) Changes in the chondrocyte population (hypercellularity and cell clustering) determined by Safranin-O histological staining. (C) Plasma levels of Fib3-2, before start of the running regime (t 1⁄4 0), at weeks 4 and 8. Fig. 2. Micro-CT result on tibial epiphysis. Shubchondral bone thickness (Sb. Pl. Th.), shubchondral bone volume fraction (Sb. Pl. BV/TV), trabecular bone thickness (Tb. Th.), and trabecular bone volume fraction (Tb. BV/TV) * p-value 0.05, ** p-value 0.01. 92 EXERCISE INDUCES TRANSIENT INFLAMMATORY AND PRO-FIBROTIC REMODELING OF THE INFRAPATELLAR FAT PAD E. Barboza, T. Kovats, J. Hudson, S. Kovats, T.M. Griffin. Oklahoma Med. Res. Fndn., Oklahoma City, OK, USA Purpose: The pro-inflammatory phenotype of the infrapatellar fat pad (IFP) in OA knee joints has raised considerable interest in understanding how this tissue contributes to the risk of OA development and progression. Some aspects of IFP pathology, such as trauma-related fibrosis, calcification, and impingement, are associated with knee pain and often referred to as Hoffa's disease. However, the biological response of the IFP to increased mechanical loading in the healthy knee is poorly understood. The IFP is predicted to contribute to knee OA risk by modulating the production of proand anti-inflammatory paracrine signaling molecules. Exercise reduces pro-inflammatory adipokine production and the cross-sectional area of subcutaneous adipocytes. Therefore, our goal was to understand the effect of exercise on IFP remodeling and inflammation. We hypothesized that increased physiologic joint loading would reduce IFP adipocyte size and the expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines and adipokines. Methods: All procedures were conducted following an approved IACUC protocol. Studies were performed on 14 wk old male C57BL/6J mice. We increased physiologic loading of the IFP using voluntary wheel running and compared mice housed in standard cages (sedentary) to those after 3 and 14 days of running. IFP remodeling was evaluated by histomorphology and by Sirius red staining under epipolarized light to quantify fibrotic collagen deposition (n 1⁄4 5). IFP inflammation was evaluated using a 42-gene customized RT-qPCR array including proand anti-inflammatory cytokines, adipokines, and inflammatory cell surface markers (n 1⁄4 6). Cellular mediators of the IFP remodeling and inflammatory response to exercise were evaluated by flow cytometry. IFP stromal vascular fraction (SVF) cells were isolated by enzymatic digestion of IFPs pooled from both knees for 8 animals and repeated 3e4 times (n 1⁄4 3e4). Isolated cells were stained for CD45.2, CD3, CD19, F4/80, CD11c, CD206, Ly6G/C and CD140a. Aqua zombi was used to determine cell viability. Results were reported as mean ± SEM, with significance evaluated by Student's t-test or 2-way ANOVA with multiple comparison correction (p < 0.05). Results: Wheel running did not alter body weight or the overall IFP cross-sectional area evaluated mid-joint in the sagittal plane. 3 days of running increased IFP fibrosis, which was negatively associated with adipocyte cross-sectional area (r2 1⁄4 0.71, p 1⁄4 0.07). However, by day 14, IFP fibrosis and adipocyte size returned to sedentary levels (Fig. 1). Similar to the transient fibrosis response, the expression of numerous proand anti-inflammatory cytokines and chemokines were elevated at 3 days and returned to sedentary levels by 14 days (Fig. 2). In particular, wheel running increased the expression of IL-1b, Lta, IL-3, Itgb2, Ccr2 and Ccl2 (p < 0.05). Anti-inflammatory cytokines were also increased at 3 days, including IL1rn and Mrc1, suggesting a combination of inflammatory activation and resolution at this time point. We next, evaluated the effect of running on SVF cell populations. 3 days of running transiently reduced the viability of isolated SVF cells to 87.1% (p < 0.0001) from 96.2% and 96.4% in sedentary and 14-day samples, respectively. However, the immune cell population (CD45.2þ) was significantly increased after 3 days of running (Fig. 3). Consistent with the proinflammatory gene expression, the CD11cþ population of macrophages (F4/80þ, Ly6C/G-) was increased at day 3. Although there were no significant differences in the immunoregulatory CD206þ population of macrophages with exercise, ~90% of IFP macrophages were CD206þ. Running did not alter T-cells (CD3þ) and slightly reduced B-cells (CD19þ) at 3 and 14 days (p 1⁄4 0.04 and 0.08, respectively). The overall effect of running on IFP adipokine expression was modest, with a transient increase in adiponectin expression at 3 days (p < 0.01), a trend for reduced leptin expression at 14 days (p1⁄40.13), and no change in Nampt expression. Conclusions: 14 days of running does not reduce IFP adipocyte size or adipokine expression in mice. Rather, running transiently upregulates IFP inflammation, activated macrophages, and fibrosis. These findings suggest a physiologic role for inflammation in load-induced IFP remodeling in young healthy knees. 93 INCREASED CARTILAGE REMODELLING AND IMPAIRED CHONDROCYTE MECHANOTRANSDUCTION IN EARLY POSTTRAUMATIC OSTEOARTRITIS M.A. Finnil€ a yz, S. Ojanen yz, S. Saarakkala zx, C. Hewitt k, W. Herzog k, P. Nieminen y, D.A. Hart k, R.K. Korhonen y. yUniv. of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland; zUniv. of Oulu, Oulu, Finland; xOulu Univ. Hosp., Oulu, Finland; kUniv. of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada Purpose: A ligament rupture in the knee changes the joint kinetics and usually leads to the development of post-traumatic osteoarthritis (PT-