Hyaluronic acid viscosupplements from avian and non-mammalian sources exhibit biocompatibility profiles with unique, source-specific, antigenic profiles
Citation
Wooley PH, Song Z, Harrison A. 2012. Hyaluronic acid viscosupplements from avian and non-mammalian sources exhibit biocompatibility profiles with unique, source-specific, antigenic profiles. J Biomed Mater Res Part B 2012:100B:808–816. doi: 10.1002/jbm.b.32514
Abstract
The objective of this study was to evaluate and compare the biocompatibility profiles of hyaluronic acid (HA) viscosupplements from avian and non-mammalian sources.
Inflammatory and immune reactions were assessed in models
of both clinically relevant and stringent immunological exposure conditions. Experiments were conducted to evaluate tissue reactions and immunological responses and assess
antibody formation with the capacity to bind directly to and
cross-react with the different viscosupplements. Mice were
exposed to viscosupplements using the air pouch inflammation model and specific immunization using Freund’s complete adjuvant (FCA). Murine pouch membrane tissue
reactions revealed generally mild to moderate responses, with
cellular infiltration and cytokine profiles of pouch tissue characteristic of predominantly fibroblastic responses rather than
marked inflammatory reactions. In vitro testing indicated that
pouch injections did not elicit detectable T-cell proliferative
responses, while antibody assays revealed that mice immunized with viscosupplements in FCA and subsequently
boosted were capable of mounting an antibody response with
a range of specificities. High reactivity to avian serum albumin
was seen in sera from mice injected with HA from an avian
source, while low positive reactivity to the bacterial antigen
Staphylococcal Lipotechoic Acid was observed in sera from
mice injected with HA from bacterial sources. These specificities did not indicate any propensity to cross-react, suggesting
that patients with adverse immune responses to HA from an
avian source should be unresponsive to subsequent injection
with HA from a non-avian source. Overall, the findings demonstrate that viscosupplements exhibit good biocompatibility
profiles in the murine air pouch, but when provoked to elicit
immunological reactions exhibit unique antigenic spectra.
These findings suggest that an immunologically mediated
immune reaction directed against avian proteins should not
necessarily be a contraindication for the administration
of non-avian viscosupplements.
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