The efficacy of the bone markers osteocalcin and the carboxyterminal cross-linked telopeptide of type-I collagen in evaluating osteogenesis in a canine crural lengthening model

Effects of Erythropoietin-Promoted Fracture Healing on Bone Turnover Markers in Cats

In orthopaedics, erythropoietin (EPO) is applied in the preoperative management of anaemic patients, but also as a stimulating factor to assist bone regeneration due to its angiogenic and osteoinductive potential. Since orthopaedists mainly rely on their clinical experience to assess bone healing, additional and more objective methods such as studying the dynamics of bone markers are needed. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the plasma activity of bone-specific alkaline phosphatase (BALP), the N-terminal propeptide of type I collagen (PINP), the C-terminal telopeptide of type I collagen (CTX), and deoxypyridinoline (DPD) during the first 2 months of healing of comminuted fractures in cats, either non-stimulated or locally stimulated with recombinant human erythropoietin (rhEPO). The study included twelve cats of mixed breeds, aged 7.2 ± 4 months, weighing 2.11 ± 1.1 kg, with comminuted diaphyseal fractures of the femur. Surgical treatment with plate osteosynthesis was performed in all animals. The cats were randomly divided into two groups-a control (n = 6) and an EPO group (n = 6). The locally applied EPO leads to the increased activity of bone formation markers (BALP and PINP) during the second week after the osteosynthesis, preceding the peaks in the control group by two weeks. The studied bone resorption markers (DPD, CTX) varied insignificantly during the studied period. In conclusion, erythropoietin could serve as a promoter of bone healing in comminuted fractures in cats.

Tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase as a biomarker of bone turnover in dog

Values of serum tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase ( TRAP) activity were obtained in adult dogs and its biological variability was assessed. Nine healthy skeletally mature Portuguese Podengo dogs were used for the determination of TRAP, total and bone alkaline phosphatase serum activities, and also to study their relationship with serum minerals, namely calcium (Ca), phosphorous (P), and magnesium (Mg). The serum TRAP activity was 2.19±0.56IU/mL, with intra-individual variation of 18.3% and inter-individual variation of 25.6%. Significant correlations were observed between serum TRAP activity and Ca (r=-0.3431; P<0.05), Ca and Mg (r=-0.787; P<0.01), and TRAP and Mg (r=0.397; P<0.05). The results indicate that serum TRAP activity in dog could be of great value in research and in clinical practice, providing complementary non-invasive information on bone metabolism