Abstract

IntroductionTendon diseases and injuries are a serious problem for the aged population, often leading to pain, disability and a significant decline in quality of life. The purpose of this study was to determine the influence of aging on biochemistry and histology during tendon healing and to provide a new strategy for improving tendon healing.MethodA total of 24 Sprague-Dawley rats were equally divided into a young and an aged group. A rat patellar tendon defect model was used in this study. Tendon samples were collected at weeks 2 and 4, and hematoxylin-eosin, alcian blue and immunofluorescence staining were performed for histological analysis. Meanwhile, reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and western blot were performed to evaluate the biochemical changes.ResultsThe histological scores in aged rats were significantly lower than those in young rats. At the protein level, collagen synthesis-related markers Col-3, Matrix metalloproteinase-1 and Metallopeptidase Inhibitor 1(TIMP-1) were decreased at week 4 in aged rats compared with those of young rats. Though there was a decrease in the expression of the chondrogenic marker aggrecan at the protein level in aged tendon, the Micro-CT results from weeks 4 samples showed no significant difference(p>0.05) on the ectopic ossification between groups. Moreover, we found more adipocytes accumulated in the aged tendon defect with the Oil Red O staining and at the gene and protein levels the markers related to adipogenic differentiation.ConclusionsOur findings indicate that tendon healing is impaired in aged rats and is characterized by a significantly lower histological score, decreased collagen synthesis and more adipocyte accumulation in patellar tendon after repair.

Highlights

  • Tendon diseases and injuries are a serious problem for the aged population, often leading to pain, disability and a significant decline in quality of life

  • Though there was a decrease in the expression of the chondrogenic marker aggrecan at the protein level in aged tendon, the Micro-CT results from weeks 4 samples showed no significant difference(p>0.05) on the ectopic ossification between groups

  • We found more adipocytes accumulated in the aged tendon defect with the Oil Red O staining and at the gene and protein levels the markers related to adipogenic differentiation

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Summary

Introduction

Tendon diseases and injuries are a serious problem for the aged population, often leading to pain, disability and a significant decline in quality of life. Musculoskeletal disorders and injuries are a considerable problem for the aged population, resulting in pain, disability, and substantial declines in quality of life. Tendon injuries are no exception; it has been reported that the incidence of rotator cuff tears is greater than 25% in people over the age of 60 [1]. Lai et al BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders (2021) 22:949 process of tendon healing in aged individuals. Therapies used in the treatment of age-related tendon diseases are often accompanied by negative complications, such as re-tear of the rotator cuff after surgical treatments in older patients [8, 9]. It is necessary to explore the pathological changes in the healing of aged tendons and find therapeutic targets for the management of age-related tendon disabilities

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