Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Multicenter Study
. 2024 Sep;56(5):924-935.
doi: 10.1111/evj.14008. Epub 2023 Oct 17.

Equine allogeneic tenogenic primed mesenchymal stem cells: A clinical field study in horses suffering from naturally occurring superficial digital flexor tendon and suspensory ligament injuries

Stephanie Carlier  1   2   3 , Eva Depuydt  1   3 , Marc Suls  4   5 , Cedric Bocqué  5 , Justine Thys  5 , Aurélie Vandenberghe  6 , Ann Martens  3 , Jimmy Saunders  2 , Klaus Hellmann  7 , Gabriele Braun  7 , Charlotte Beerts  1   2 , Jan H Spaas  1   2
Affiliations
Multicenter Study

Equine allogeneic tenogenic primed mesenchymal stem cells: A clinical field study in horses suffering from naturally occurring superficial digital flexor tendon and suspensory ligament injuries

Stephanie Carlier et al. Equine Vet J. 2024 Sep.

Abstract

Background: Mesenchymal stem cells are an innovative therapeutic for various equine orthopaedic diseases, including soft tissue injuries.

Objectives: To evaluate the safety and efficacy of tenogenic primed equine allogeneic peripheral blood-derived mesenchymal stem cells (tpMSCs) in horses with naturally occurring superficial digital flexor tendon (SDFT) and suspensory ligament (SL) injuries.

Study design: Multicentre, blinded, randomised, placebo-controlled clinical trial.

Methods: One hundred client-owned horses with SDFT and SL injuries were randomised to receive an intralesional tpMSC (66) or saline (34) injection. Clinical and ultrasonographic evaluation was performed before treatment and on Days 56 ± 3 and 112 ± 3 after treatment. Long-term data on re-injury was collected up to 2 years after treatment.

Results: Significantly more tpMSC-treated horses achieved improvement in fibre alignment score (FAS) (100% vs. 54.5%, p < 0.001) and echogenicity (97.0% vs. 57.6%, p < 0.001) on Day 112 ± 3, and their lesion size decreased significantly (-27.6 ± 25.91 vs. -4.6 ± 26.64 mm2, p < 0.001) compared to the placebo group. A FAS = 0 was achieved in 65% of tpMSC-treated horses, as compared to 9% of placebo-treated horses at Day 112 ± 3. The attending veterinarians reported no re-injury in 41 of 53 tpMSC and in 2 of 26 saline-treated horses available for long-term follow-up (p < 0.001).

Main limitations: As this study consisted of client-owned horses, no samples for histology were collected. Long-term follow-up was only available for a subset of enrolled horses.

Conclusions: The intralesional administration of tpMSCs was safe and improved the quality of healing and long-term outcomes in sports horses with naturally occurring SDFT and suspensory injuries.

Keywords: desmitis; horse; stem cell therapy; tendonitis.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

REFERENCES

    1. Murray RC, Dyson SJ, Tranquille C, Adams V. Association of type of sport and performance level with anatomical site of orthopaedic injury diagnosis. Equine Vet J. 2006;38(36):411–416.
    1. Williams RB, Harkins LS, Hammond CJ, Wood JLN. Racehorse injuries, clinical problems and fatalities recorded on British racecourses from flat racing and National Hunt racing during 1996, 1997 and 1998. Equine Vet J. 2001;33(5):478–486.
    1. Sloet Van Oldruitenborgh‐Oosterbaan MM, Genzel W, van Weeren PR. A pilot study on factors influencing the career of Dutch sport horses. Equine Vet J. 2010;42(38):28–32.
    1. Dowling BA, Dart AJ, Hodgson DR, Smith RKW. Superficial digital flexor tendonitis in the horse. Equine Vet J. 2000;32(5):369–378.
    1. Spaas JH, Guest DJ, Van de Walle GR. Tendon regeneration in human and equine athletes: Ubi Sumus‐quo Vadimus (where are we and where are we going to)? Sports Med. 2012;42(10):871–890.

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources