Birch Helen L
Institute of Orthopaedics and Musculoskeletal Science, University College London, Stanmore, UK.
Int J Exp Pathol. 2007 Aug;88(4):241-8. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2613.2007.00552.x.
Tendons are dense regular connective tissue structures that are defined based on their anatomical position of connecting muscle to bone. Despite these obvious commons features tendons from different locations within the body show remarkable variation in terms of their morphological, molecular and mechanical properties which relates to their specialized function. An appreciation of these differences is necessary to understand all aspects of tendon biology in health and disease. In our work, we have used a combination of mechanical assessment, histological measurements and molecular analysis of matrix in functionally distinct tendons to determine relationships between function and structure. We have found significant differences in material and molecular properties between spring-like tendons that are subjected to high strains during locomotion and positional tendons which are subjected to much lower strains. Furthermore, we have data to suggest that not only is the matrix composition different but also the ability of cells to synthesize and degrade the matrix (matrix turnover) varies between tendon types. We propose that these differences relate to the magnitude of strain that the tendon experiences during normal activities in life. Tendon cells may be preprogrammed during embryological development for the strain they will encounter in life or may simply respond to the particular strain environment they are subjected to. The elucidation of controlling mechanisms resulting in tendon cell specialization will have important consequences for cell based therapies and engineering strategies to repair damaged tendons.
肌腱是致密规则的结缔组织结构，根据其将肌肉连接到骨骼的解剖位置来定义。尽管有这些明显的共同特征，但身体内不同位置的肌腱在形态、分子和力学特性方面表现出显著差异，这与其特定功能相关。了解这些差异对于理解健康和疾病状态下肌腱生物学的各个方面至关重要。在我们的研究中，我们结合了力学评估、组织学测量和对功能不同的肌腱中基质的分子分析，以确定功能与结构之间的关系。我们发现，在运动过程中承受高应变的弹簧状肌腱与承受低得多应变的位置性肌腱在材料和分子特性上存在显著差异。此外，我们的数据表明，不仅基质组成不同，而且细胞合成和降解基质的能力（基质周转）在不同类型的肌腱之间也有所不同。我们认为这些差异与肌腱在正常生活活动中所经历的应变大小有关。肌腱细胞可能在胚胎发育过程中就已针对它们在生活中将会遇到的应变进行了预编程，或者可能只是对它们所经历的特定应变环境做出反应。阐明导致肌腱细胞特化的控制机制将对基于细胞的治疗方法和修复受损肌腱的工程策略产生重要影响。
