Permeability and shear modulus of articular cartilage in growing mice

Abstract

Articular cartilage maturation is the postnatal development process that adapts joint surfaces to their site-specific biomechanical demands. Understanding the changes in mechanical tissues properties during growth is a critical step in advancing strategies for orthopedics and for cell- and biomaterial- based therapies dedicated to cartilage repair. We hypothesize that at the microscale, the articular cartilage tissue properties of the mouse (i.e., shear modulus and permeability) change with the growth and are dependent on location within the joint. We tested cartilage on the medial femoral condyle and lateral femoral condyle of seven C57Bl6 mice at different ages (2, 3, 5, 7, 9, 12, and 17 weeks old) using a micro-indentation test. Results indicated that permeability decreased with age from 2 to 17 weeks. Shear modulus reached a peak at the end of the growth (9 weeks). Within an age group, shear modulus was higher in the MFC than in the LFC, but permeability did not change. We have developed a method that can measure natural alterations in cartilage material properties in a murine joint, which will be useful in identifying changes in cartilage mechanics with degeneration, pathology, or treatment.

Murine articular cartilage morphology and compositional quantification with high resolution cationic contrast‐enhanced μCT

“…Articular cartilage is known to undergo degradation due to aging. Studies have shown: (i) an increase in the stiffness of the cartilage matrix; (ii) a decrease in permeability; and (iii) reduction in thickness with age in mouse models . Although we were able to observed cartilage thinning between 12‐week‐old mice and 34‐week‐old mice, we did not observe any differences between 7‐ and 12‐week‐old mice.…”

“…Studies have shown: (i) an increase in the stiffness of the cartilage matrix; (ii) a decrease in permeability; and (iii) reduction in thickness with age in mouse models. [32][33][34] Although we were able to observed cartilage thinning between 12-week-old mice and 34-week-old mice, we did not observe any differences between 7-and 12-week-old mice. Previous contrast enhanced mCT studies using 8-and 16-weekold mice 19 and 6-and 14-week-old mice, 16 found significant decreases in global thickness and volume and increases in attenuation.…”

Investigation of fullerenol-induced changes in poroelasticity of human hepatocellular carcinoma by AFM-based creep tests

“…In this model, the ability of liquid to flow through cell’s meshwork, i.e., the permeability, is critical to the mechanical behavior of the living cell (Berteau et al. 2016 ). On the other hand, the elasticity of solid meshwork is characterized by the shear modulus G which reflects the cell’s response to shear stress and is independent of flow (Selvadurai 2004 ).…”

Comparison of Regenerative Tissue Quality following Matrix-Associated Cell Implantation Using Amplified Chondrocytes Compared to Synovium-Derived Stem Cells in a Rabbit Model for Cartilage Lesions

“…The collagen content influences the shear modulus, which describes the material's response to shear stress and provides a functional measure of cartilage health [ 18 ]. The pattern of this analysis resembles the instant modulus.…”