Elevated aggrecanase activity in a rat model of joint injury is attenuated by an aggrecanase specific inhibitor

Objective: To evaluate aggrecanase activity after traumatic knee injury in a rat model by measuring the level of aggrecanase-generated Ala-Arg-Gly-aggrecan (ARG-aggrecan) fragments in synovial fluid, and compare with ARG-aggrecan release into joint fluid following human knee injury. To evaluate the effect of small molecule inhibitors on induced aggrecanase activity in the rat model.

Method: An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was developed to measure ARG-aggrecan levels in animal and human joint fluids. A rat model of meniscal tear (MT)-induced joint instability was used to assess ARG-aggrecan release into joint fluid and the effects of aggrecanase inhibition. Synovial fluids were also obtained from patients with acute joint injury or osteoarthritis and assayed for ARG-aggrecan.

Results: Joint fluids from human patients after knee injury showed significantly enhanced levels of ARG-aggrecan compared to uninjured reference subjects. Similarly, synovial fluid ARG-aggrecan levels increased following surgically-induced joint instability in the rat MT model, which was significantly attenuated by orally dosing the animals with AGG-523, an aggrecanase specific inhibitor.

Conclusions: Aggrecanase-generated aggrecan fragments were rapidly released into human and rat joint fluids after injury to the knee and remained elevated over a prolonged period. Our findings in human and preclinical models strengthen the connection between aggrecanase activity in joints and knee injury and disease. The ability of a small molecule aggrecanase inhibitor to reduce the release of aggrecanase-generated aggrecan fragments into rat joints suggests that pharmacologic inhibition of aggrecanase activity in humans may be an effective treatment for slowing cartilage degradation following joint injury.