The effect of supplementation of a glutamine precursor on the growth plate, articular cartilage and cancellous bone in fundectomy-induced osteopenic bone.

The aim of the study was to investigate the effect of 2-oxoglutaric acid (2-Ox) supplementation (a precursor of glutamine and hydroxyproline, the most abundant amino acid of collagen) on cartilage and bone in pigs after fundectomy. Pigs at the age of forty days were subjected to fundectomy and divided into two groups depending on 2-Ox supplementation (at the daily dosage of 0.4 g/kg of body weight). Other pigs were sham operated. Pigs were euthanized at the age of eight months. An analysis of the morphometry of trabeculae, growth plate and articular cartilage in fundectomy-induced osteopenic bone was performed. Moreover, the levels of expression of osteocalcin, osteopontin and osteoprotegerin in trabecular bone and osteocalcin in articular cartilage were evaluated. Articular cartilage was thinnest in fundectomized pigs and thickest in 2-Ox-supplemented animals after fundectomy. Moreover, 2-Ox supplementation after fundectomy enhanced the total thickness of the growth plate and trabeculae in fundectomized pigs. The most evident signal for osteocalcin and osteoprotegerin in trabecular bone was in sham-operated and 2-Ox-supplemented pigs; a low reaction was observed in the fundectomized group. Additionally, as a long-term postoperative consequence, a change was observed in the expression of osteocalcin in articular cartilage. It seems that 2-Ox is suitable for use in preventing the negative effects of fundectomy on cancellous bone and cartilage.