We evaluated the efficiency of a lubricant based on a pulmonary surfactant in experimental knee osteoarthritis in rats induced by intraarticular injection of abrasive material that reduces the lubricative properties of the synovial fluid. Experimental substance containing proteins of the pulmonary surfactant exhibiting natural lubricative properties was used as the lubricant. The effectiveness of the substance was analyzed by changes in morphological characteristics of the articular cartilage in 3D reconstruction images of the knee joint obtained by the method of multiple high-precision grinding. It was found that radial thickness of the articular cartilage increased and surface relief index decreased on the 6th and 12th week after administration of the substance containing surfactant proteins, which can indicate partial recovery of the articular cartilage.
Keywords: 3D reconstruction the knee joint; articular cartilage; experimental osteoarthritis; rat; surfactant-associated proteins.