IM administration of PSGAG inhibited COMP degradation in dogs with osteoarthritis. Results indicate that decreases in serum COMP concentrations might be related to improvement in lameness after PSGAG treatment.

Results suggest that CT-detected abnormalities in the DARA and CD index during body weight loading might be useful indicators of hip dysplasia in 2- to 6-month-old dogs.

Measurement of serum COMP with sandwich ELISA may be useful in identifying horses with OA.

In dog IVDH, release of COMP from the spinal cord in association with injury may lead to COMP accumulation in L-CSF posterior to the site of disc extrusion, and therefore might be a predictive marker of spinal cord injury.

ABSTRACT. To investigate the expression of cartilage oligomeric matrix protein (COMP) associated with oncogenesis, samples of serum and tumor tissue were obtained from 25 dogs with tumors. The serum levels of COMP in dogs with tumors were significantly higher than in 38 normal controls and correlated with the concentrations of tumor tissue extracts. Positive bands to COMP antibody were detected on immunoblots of tumor extracts. Immunohistochemistry and in situ hybridization demonstrated positive signals of COMP and its mRNA in the cytoplasm of tumor cells from mammary gland tumors, but not in the normal mammary gland. Positive immunohistochemistry results were also obtained for COMP in mast cell tumor and melanoma cells. Oncogenesis might augment production of COMP and the serum level of COMP in dogs.