Athanasiou K A, Zhu C F, Wang X, Agrawal C M
Department of Bioengineering, Rice University, Houston, TX 77251-1892, USA.
Ann Biomed Eng. 2000 Feb;28(2):143-9. doi: 10.1114/1.238.
The objectives of this study were to investigate the effects of aging and diet restriction on the biomechanical properties of articular cartilage, using a well-controlled rat model (Fischer 344). This animal model is recommended by the National Institute of Aging specifically to study aging and diet issues. The intrinsic biomechanical properties of articular cartilage were obtained using a creep indentation approach. The ages chosen (6, 12, 18, 24 months of age) correspond to approximate human ages of 20 to 80 years old. The diet regimen employed in this study used either an ad libitum fed group or a group fed 60% of the mean food intake of the ad libitum group. The results demonstrate that, unlike bone, rat articular cartilage biomechanical properties are not affected in a discernible manner by diet restriction, despite the fact that diet-restricted animals were significantly lighter in terms of body weight. Age effects on biomechanical properties are found only at 6 and 12 months probably due to developmental reasons, but not at later ages. It appears that aging and diet restriction have profoundly different effects on articular cartilage and bone. Another significant result of this study was to establish the rat as a suitable animal model to study cartilage biomechanical properties. Thus, the rat can be added to the list of animals that can be used to study structure-function and pathophysiological relationships in articular cartilage.
本研究的目的是使用一种严格控制的大鼠模型（Fischer 344），研究衰老和饮食限制对关节软骨生物力学特性的影响。这种动物模型是美国国立衰老研究所特别推荐用于研究衰老和饮食问题的。关节软骨的固有生物力学特性通过蠕变压痕法获得。所选的年龄（6、12、18、24月龄）大致对应于人类20至80岁的年龄。本研究采用的饮食方案包括自由采食组或采食自由采食组平均食物摄入量60%的组。结果表明，与骨骼不同，尽管饮食限制组动物的体重显著较轻，但大鼠关节软骨的生物力学特性并未受到饮食限制的明显影响。年龄对生物力学特性的影响仅在6个月和12个月时出现，可能是由于发育原因，但在后期未出现。衰老和饮食限制对关节软骨和骨骼的影响似乎有很大不同。本研究的另一个重要结果是确定大鼠是研究软骨生物力学特性的合适动物模型。因此，大鼠可以被添加到可用于研究关节软骨结构-功能和病理生理关系的动物名单中。
