Synovial fluid inflammatory cytokines and proteins in clinically healthy and arthritic joint of dromedary camels (Camelus dromedarius)

Analyzing the synovial fluid is one of the common methods to diagnose the articular problems to detect the stage and express the prognosis. Such gross, cytological, and biochemical analysis of synovial fluids can aid in the diagnosis of various joint diseases. Objectives: Normal values for synovial fluid in the camels have been described previously; however, there are no reports regarding concentr-ation of acute phase proteins and inflammatory cytokines in camelids synovial fluid. Hence, the present study tried to compare the synovial fluid inflammatory cytokines and acute phase proteins in clinically healthy and arthritic tarsal joints of dromedary camels. Methods: 46 male dromedary camels, 5 to 10 years old, were used in this study. 33 camels did not have any clinical articular abnormalities while 13 camels had gross articular problems such as lameness and swollen tarsal joints. Collecting the synovial fluids was extracted from the healthy and arthritic tarsal joints immediately after slaughter. Then, the concentration of haptoglobin, serum amyloid A, tumor necrosis factor-alpha, and interferon-gamma were measured in samples. Results: Concentration of all measured parameters in arthritic joints were significantly higher than clinically healthy joints (p<0.05). The synovial fluid concentration of serum amyloid A, haptoglobin, tumor necrosis factor-alpha, and interferon-gamma were 5.379, 4.285, 25.503, and 1.904 times higher in arthritic joints than normal joints, respectively. Conclusions: The articular inflammatory processes can increase the synovial fluid concentration of acute phase proteins and inflammatory cytokines. Information about the normal values of these parameters and their changing patterns may help camel rearing systems during arthrititis by assessing the health status of joints in the camels; in addition, the information about normal values can be diagnostically valuable when considering diseased animals.