Biomechanical properties of anterior cruciate ligament in rats with knee osteoarthritis

doi:10.13418/j.issn.1001-165x.2025.3.15

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Chinese Journal of Clinical Anatomy ›› 2025, Vol. 43 ›› Issue (3) : 342-350. DOI: 10.13418/j.issn.1001-165x.2025.3.15

Biomechanical properties of anterior cruciate ligament in rats with knee osteoarthritis

Yang Haolin^{1, 8}, Wang Mian^{2, 3}, Li Zitao^{4, 5}, Deng Yuping^{2, 6}, Zhao Dongliang^{7, 8}, Huang Wenhua^{1, 2, 3, 6, 9}

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Abstract

Objective To investigate the changes of biomechanical response of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in KOA rats. Methods The left hind limb was immobilized for 3 weeks to establish a rat model of early knee osteoarthritis, after success of model was confirmed by Saffron-O and Fast Green staining, two groups of anterior cruciate ligaments were dissected for macroscopic mechanical testing by multi-scale micro-mechanical loading system. The changes of microscopic components were determined by histological staining. The microstructure was observed by two-photon microscopy. Results The results of Saffron-O and Fast Green staining showed early pathological changes of cartilage in KOA after 3 weeks of left hind limb fixation. HE staining showed that anterior cruciate ligament was infiltrated by inflammatory cells in early KOA, ligaments in an inflammatory environment. The macroscopic mechanical test indicated that stiffness, low tensile modulus, and high tensile modulus of ACL changed in early arthritis. The initial slope of compensatory side was higher than that of the right anterior cruciate ligament in the normal group. The microstructure observation confirmed that ACL was disordered after arthritis, and the arrangement direction of collagen fibers was disordered. Conclusions These results indicate that the changes of mechanical properties of ACL of KOA induced by joint braking are mainly characterized by an increase of tissue stiffness, which may be related to inflammatory infiltration of ligament tissue and the changes of microscopic collagen fiber structure.

Key words

Knee osteoarthritis / / / Anterior cruciate ligament / / / Biomechanics / / / / Viscoelasticity

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Yang Haolin, Wang Mian, Li Zitao, Deng Yuping, Zhao Dongliang, Huang Wenhua. Biomechanical properties of anterior cruciate ligament in rats with knee osteoarthritis[J]. Chinese Journal of Clinical Anatomy. 2025, 43(3): 342-350 https://doi.org/10.13418/j.issn.1001-165x.2025.3.15

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