COMPARISON OF AGE-ASSOCIATED DEGENERATION OF ARTICULAR-CARTILAGE IN WISTAR AND FISCHER-344 RATS

We have carried out a comparison of cartilage degeneration that develo ps spontaneously with age in the Wistar and Fischer 344 rats, Young ad ult (6-month-old) Wistar rats were essentially free of any relevant le sion in the articular cartilage of the knee, Aged (24-month-old) Wista r rats had minimal to mild lesions found mainly in the medial tibial p lateau, These lesions were indicated by a focal loss of toluidine blue staining and limited fibrillation. Approximately 68% of the old Wista r rats had some degree of pathologic change, In comparison, 100% of th e Fischer 344 rats examined, both young and old, had cartilage degener ation, However, the severity of the lesions increased with age, These two rat strains have variable degrees of spontaneous age-associated ca rtilage degeneration and would be suitable for testing treatments to p revent or repair the cartilage damage.