An in vitro investigation to understand the synergistic role of MMPs-1 and 9 on articular cartilage biomechanical properties

Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) play a crucial role in enzymatically digesting cartilage extracellular matrix (ECM) components, resulting in degraded cartilage with altered mechanical loading capacity. Overexpression of MMPs is often caused by trauma, physiologic conditions and by disease. To understand the synergistic impact MMPs have on cartilage biomechanical properties, MMPs from two subfamilies: collagenase (MMP-1) and gelatinase (MMP-9) were investigated in this study. Three different ratios of MMP-1 (c) and MMP-9 (g), c1:g1, c3:g1 and c1:g3 were considered to develop a degradation model. Thirty samples, harvested from bovine femoral condyles, were treated in groups of 10 with one concentration of enzyme mixture. Each sample was tested in a healthy state prior to introducing degradative enzymes to establish a baseline. Samples were subjected to indentation loading up to 20% bulk strain. Both control and treated samples were mechanically and histologically assessed to determine the impact of degradation. Young’s modulus and peak load of the tissue under indentation were compared between the control and degraded cartilage explants. Cartilage degraded with the c3:g1 enzyme concentration resulted in maximum 33% reduction in stiffness and peak load compared to the other two concentrations. The abundance of collagenase is more responsible for cartilage degradation and reduced mechanical integrity.