Moriyama H, Yoshimura O, Kawamata S, Takayanagi K, Kurose T, Kubota A, Hosoda M, Tobimatsu Y
School of Health and Social Services, Saitama Prefectural University, Koshigaya-shi, Saitama 343-8540, Japan.
Osteoarthritis Cartilage. 2008 Mar;16(3):392-8. doi: 10.1016/j.joca.2007.07.002. Epub 2007 Aug 16.
Mechanical forces are crucial for the maintenance of the morphologic and functional integrity of articular cartilage. The alteration of the articular cartilage after spinal cord injury (SCI) has been described in relation to a suppression of mechanical forces, since the joint is unloaded and restricted in movement. However, the morphological and biochemical characteristics of the cartilage after SCI are still poorly understood. We identified the localization of cartilage alterations after SCI and verified the influence of mechanical forces on the articular cartilage.
A total of 32 Wistar rats were used. Sixteen animals underwent an SCI and 16 animals served as control. The articular cartilage of the knee joint was assessed, respectively, at 4, 8, 10, and 12 weeks after intervention by histochemical, histomorphometric, immunohistochemical, and biochemical analyses.
Cartilage thickness of spinal cord-injured knees decreased at the tibial and posterior femoral (FP) regions and increased at the anterior femoral (FA) region. Spinal cord injuries decreased the number of chondrocytes at the anterior regions and decreased the cartilage matrix staining only at the tibial regions. Immunolabeling to collagen type II was noted comparably in the superficial layer but noted weakly from the middle to deep layer. Collagen type I existed excessively at the cartilage surface and the pericellular regions.
Cartilage alterations after SCI would not be explained by only a suppression of mechanical forces by unloading and immobilization, but there may be influences on the cartilage in addition to the change in mechanical forces.
机械力对于维持关节软骨的形态和功能完整性至关重要。脊髓损伤（SCI）后关节软骨的改变已被描述为与机械力的抑制有关，因为关节卸载且活动受限。然而，SCI后软骨的形态学和生物化学特征仍知之甚少。我们确定了SCI后软骨改变的定位，并验证了机械力对关节软骨的影响。
共使用32只Wistar大鼠。16只动物接受脊髓损伤，16只动物作为对照。在干预后4、8、10和12周，分别通过组织化学、组织形态计量学、免疫组织化学和生物化学分析评估膝关节的关节软骨。
脊髓损伤膝关节的软骨厚度在胫骨和股骨后部（FP）区域减少，在股骨前部（FA）区域增加。脊髓损伤减少了前部区域的软骨细胞数量，仅在胫骨区域减少了软骨基质染色。Ⅱ型胶原免疫标记在表层相当明显，但从中层到深层较弱。Ⅰ型胶原在软骨表面和细胞周围区域过度存在。
SCI后的软骨改变不能仅用卸载和固定导致的机械力抑制来解释，除了机械力的变化外，可能还存在对软骨的其他影响。
