Tamburro Margaret K, Bonilla Kelsey A, Shetye Snehal S, Leahy Thomas P, Eekhoff Jeremy D, Kim Min-Soo, Petucci Christopher, Tobias John W, Farber Daniel C, Soslowsky Louis J
McKay Orthopaedic Laboratory, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.
Department of Bioengineering, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.
J Orthop Res. 2025 Mar;43(3):519-530. doi: 10.1002/jor.26030. Epub 2024 Dec 27.
Exercise influences clinical Achilles tendon health in humans, but animal models of exercise-related Achilles tendon changes are lacking. Moreover, previous investigations of the effects of treadmill running exercise on rat Achilles tendon demonstrate variable outcomes. Our objective was to assess the functional, structural, cellular, and biomechanical impacts of treadmill running exercise on rat Achilles tendon with sensitive in and ex vivo approaches. Three running levels were assessed over the course of 8 weeks: control (cage activity), moderate-speed (treadmill running at 10 m/min, no incline), and high-speed (treadmill running at 20 m/min, 10° incline). We hypothesized that moderate-speed treadmill running would beneficially impact tendon biomechanics through increased tenocyte cellularity, metabolism, and anabolism whereas high-speed treadmill running would cause a tendinopathic phenotype with compromised tendon biomechanics due to pathologic tenocyte differentiation, metabolism, and catabolism. Contrary to our hypothesis, treadmill running exercise at these speeds had a nominal effect on the rat Achilles tendon. Treadmill running modestly influenced tenocyte metabolism and nuclear aspect ratio as well as viscoelastic tendon properties but did not cause a tendinopathic phenotype. These findings highlight the need for improved models of exercise- and loading-related tendon changes that can be leveraged to develop strategies for tendinopathy prevention and treatment.
运动对人类临床跟腱健康有影响，但缺乏与运动相关的跟腱变化的动物模型。此外，先前关于跑步机跑步运动对大鼠跟腱影响的研究结果不一。我们的目的是采用灵敏的体内和体外方法，评估跑步机跑步运动对大鼠跟腱的功能、结构、细胞和生物力学影响。在8周的时间里评估了三个跑步水平：对照组（笼内活动）、中速组（在跑步机上以10米/分钟的速度跑步，无坡度）和高速组（在跑步机上以20米/分钟的速度跑步，10°坡度）。我们假设，中速跑步机跑步将通过增加肌腱细胞数量、代谢和合成代谢，对肌腱生物力学产生有益影响，而高速跑步机跑步将导致肌腱病表型，由于病理性肌腱细胞分化、代谢和分解代谢，肌腱生物力学受损。与我们的假设相反，以这些速度进行的跑步机跑步运动对大鼠跟腱的影响很小。跑步机跑步适度影响了肌腱细胞代谢、核长宽比以及肌腱的粘弹性特性，但没有导致肌腱病表型。这些发现凸显了需要改进与运动和负荷相关的肌腱变化模型，以便能够利用这些模型制定肌腱病预防和治疗策略。
