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Zone-Specific Changes in Micromechanical, Biochemical, and Structural Properties in Articular Cartilage from a Rabbit Joint Flexion Model

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 February 2011

Cheng Li ,
Karen B. King  and
Lisa A. Pruitt
Cheng Li
Affiliation:
[email protected], University of California, Berkeley, UC Berkeley & UCSF Joint Graduate Group in Bioengineering, 2121 Etcheverry Hall, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, 94720, United States, 510-643-9095
Karen B. King
Affiliation:
[email protected], University of Colorado at Denver and Health Sciences Center, Department of Orthopaedics - Bioengineering, 12800 E. 19th Ave. RC1 N Room 2103, Mailstop 8343 PO Box 6511, Aurora, CO, 80045, United States
Lisa A. Pruitt
Affiliation:
[email protected], University of California, Berkeley, Mechanical Engineering, 5134 Etcheverry Hall, Mailstop 1740, Berkeley, CA, 94720-1740, United States
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Abstract

Metacarpophalangeal (MCP) joint proximal bone-cartilage specimens from the fourth digit were collected from repetitively flexed and non-flexed (control) paws of four New Zealand White rabbits. The specimens were cryo-fractured to reveal a sagittal cut containing the cartilage zones of different collagen microstructure. Nanoindentation, Fourier Transform infrared microspectroscopic imaging (FTIRMI), and histology were performed on a region of interest (ROI) ∼400 microns wide and through the thickness of the cartilage with two goals in mind: (1) to examine the effect of collagen network structure (random in the mid zone versus organized in the deep zone) on the biomechanical and biochemical properties of cartilage; and (2) to understand the changes in these properties due to physical forces. We found that zone microstructure significantly affected the measurement of the local relaxed modulus measured by nanoindentation. The deep zone had a higher modulus than the mid zone (Wilcoxon paired test, p<0.05). We also found that flexion significantly decreased the proteoglycan content in both the mid and deep zones (Wilcoxon paired test, p<0.05), suggesting indirect repetitive loading in the rabbit paw can be damaging to the joint via down regulating proteoglycan synthesis in the mid and deep zone cartilage. This is the first study to simultaneously report the local zone-specific mechanical and biochemical properties in the rabbit joint flexion model.

Keywords

tissueelastic propertiesstructural
Type
Research Article
Information
MRS Online Proceedings Library (OPL) , Volume 1097: Symposium GG – Mechanical Behavior of Biological Materials and Biomaterials , 2008 , 1097-GG01-10
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2008

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References

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