Hirukawa Masaki, Katayama Shingo, Sato Tatsuya, Yamada Masayoshi, Kageyama Satoshi, Unno Hironori, Suzuki Yoshiaki, Miura Yoshihiro, Shiratsuchi Eri, Hasegawa Masahiro, Miyamoto Keiichi, Horiuchi Takashi
Department of Chemistry for Materials, Mie University, Graduate School of Engineering, Tsu, Mie, Japan.
Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Mie University, Graduate School of Medicine, Tsu, Mie, Japan.
Artif Organs. 2018 Jun;42(6):E102-E113. doi: 10.1111/aor.13066. Epub 2017 Dec 21.
When ligaments are injured, reconstructive surgery is sometimes required to restore function. Methods of reconstructive surgery include transplantation of an artificial ligament and autotransplantation of a tendon. However, these methods have limitations related to the strength of the bone-ligament insertion and biocompatibility of the transplanted tissue after surgery. Therefore, it is necessary to develop new reconstruction methods and pursue the development of artificial ligaments. Elastin is a major component of elastic fibers and ligaments. However, the role of elastin in ligament regeneration has not been described. Here, we developed a rabbit model of a medial collateral ligament (MCL) rupture and treated animal knees with exogenous elastin [100 µg/(0.5 mL·week)] for 6 or 12 weeks. Elastin treatment increased gene expression and protein content of collagen and elastin (gene expression, 6-fold and 42-fold, respectively; protein content, 1.6-fold and 1.9-fold, respectively), and also increased the elastic modulus of MCL increased with elastin treatment (2-fold) compared with the controls. Our data suggest that elastin is involved in the regeneration of damaged ligaments.
当韧带受伤时，有时需要进行重建手术来恢复功能。重建手术的方法包括人工韧带移植和肌腱自体移植。然而，这些方法在骨韧带附着强度和术后移植组织的生物相容性方面存在局限性。因此，有必要开发新的重建方法并推动人工韧带的发展。弹性蛋白是弹性纤维和韧带的主要成分。然而，弹性蛋白在韧带再生中的作用尚未见报道。在此，我们建立了兔内侧副韧带（MCL）断裂模型，并用外源性弹性蛋白[100 µg/(0.5 mL·周)]对动物膝关节进行了6周或12周的治疗。弹性蛋白治疗增加了胶原蛋白和弹性蛋白的基因表达和蛋白质含量（基因表达分别增加6倍和42倍；蛋白质含量分别增加1.6倍和1.9倍），并且与对照组相比，弹性蛋白治疗使MCL的弹性模量增加（2倍）。我们的数据表明弹性蛋白参与了受损韧带的再生。
