ELEVATED PLASMA GLYCOSAMINOGLYCANS IN CHICKENS WITH TIBIAL DYSCHONDROPLASIA INDUCED BY A FUSARIUM-OXYSPORUM ISOLATE

Chicken plasma glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) were isolated and digested. T heir building block molecules, namely, glucosamine and galactosamine, were quantified by gas chromatography. The levels of these two amino s ugars were elevated in broiler chickens with tibial dyschondroplasia ( TD) induced by culture material of Fusarium oxysporum (FO), a mold iso lated from corn originated from the endemic region of Kaschin-Beck dis ease (KBD) in China. As the TD severity score changed from 1 (healthy) to 2, 3, and 4, glucosamine increased by 10%, 33%, and 57% and galact osamine by 9%, 13%, and 48%, respectively. The elevated plasma GAGs co rrelated to TD severity but not to the amount of FO material in the di ets. This correlation of plasma GAGs to TD in chickens parallels the r eported correlation of urinary GAGs to KBD in humans. The possibility of TD as an animal model for KBD is discussed.