Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42626470›Full record

ArticleFrontiers in veterinary science2026

Cord blood mesenchymal stromal cells combined with hyaluronic acid show symptom-modifying and potential disease-modifying effects in an equine osteoarthritis fetlock chip model.

Rodrigo M Luque, Narman Mortagy, Terence C McCorkell, Thomas G Koch, Sahar Mehrpouyan, Amir Hamed Alizadeh, Keith A Russell, Janet Beeler-Marfisi, Laurie R Goodrich, Gabrielle Monteith and 5 more

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Article in Frontiers in veterinary science, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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0citing papers in PubMed
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1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

15 authors.

Rodrigo M LuqueDepartment of Biomedical Sciences, Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, Canada.
Narman MortagyDepartment of Biomedical Sciences, Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, Canada.
Terence C McCorkellDepartment of Biomedical Sciences, Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, Canada.
Thomas G KochDepartment of Biomedical Sciences, Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, Canada.
Sahar MehrpouyaneQcell Inc, Guelph, ON, Canada.
Amir Hamed AlizadeheQcell Inc, Guelph, ON, Canada.
Keith A RusselleQcell Inc, Guelph, ON, Canada.
Janet Beeler-MarfisiDepartment of Pathobiology, Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, Canada.
Laurie R GoodrichOrthopaedic Research Center, Translational Medicine Institute, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, United States.
Gabrielle MonteithDepartment of Clinical Studies, Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, Canada.
Alexander ValverdeDepartment of Clinical Studies, Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, Canada.
Howard DobsonDepartment of Clinical Studies, Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, Canada.
Alex Zur LindenDepartment of Clinical Studies, Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, Canada.
Andres F GiraldoDepartment of Clinical Studies, Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, Canada.
Judith B KoenigDepartment of Clinical Studies, Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, Canada.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Introduction: Osteoarthritis (OA) is a major cause of lameness in horses, and current therapies largely address clinical signs rather than disease progression. Mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) have shown promise as disease-modifying biologics, but their effects on joint structure and immunologic phenotype remain incompletely characterized. Objectives: To evaluate the safety and efficacy of pooled cryopreserved equine umbilical cord blood-derived MSCs (eCB-MSCs) combined with hyaluronic acid (HA) for surgically induced fetlock OA in horses, using integrated clinical, imaging, and synovial biomarker outcomes. Study design: Prospective randomized experimental study. Methods: Twelve Standardbred horses underwent arthroscopic creation of an osteochondral (OC) fragment on the proximal phalanx (P1) in one metacarpophalangeal joint and were randomized to receive intra-articular eCB-MSC + HA or saline 6 weeks after surgery. At 12 weeks, a second surgery enabled joint sampling and arthroscopic scoring. Clinical lameness was assessed using subjective scoring and inertial sensor-based gait analysis. Structural progression was evaluated using radiography and high-field MRI with a modified Whole-Organ Magnetic Resonance Imaging Score (WORMS). Synovial fluid cytokines and chemokines were quantified longitudinally. Treatment effects and interactions with time-of-treatment inflammatory status and fragment size were analyzed using mixed models and non-parametric methods. Results: Both treatments were well tolerated with no clinically relevant adverse joint reactions. eCB-MSC + HA treated horses showed significantly greater improvement in both objective and subjective lameness scores than saline-treated controls. MRI showed stabilization or improvement of WORMS scores in eCB-MSC + HA treated joints, whereas saline-treated joints exhibited structural deterioration over time; radiographic and arthroscopic scores did not differ significantly between groups. Synovial cytokine responses were baseline- and fragment-dependent, with attenuation of pro-inflammatory mediators (including IL-1β and TNF- Conclusion: eCB-MSC + HA therapy was safe and was associated with improved clinical signs, MRI-detected structural benefits, and immunomodulatory effects. Because the between group structural difference was significant on MRI but not on radiography or arthroscopy, and given the small sample size and short follow-up, these results suggest a symptom-modifying and potential disease-modifying role for eCB-MSC + HA in early OA, pending confirmation in larger, longer-term studies.

Indexed as

allogeneicequineMSCosteoarthritisstromalWORMS

Identifiers

PMID42626470
PMCPMC13491432

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.