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Yucatan Minipig Knee Meniscus Regional Biomechanics and Biochemical Structure Support its Suitability as a Large Animal Model for Translational Research

Knee meniscus injuries are the most frequent causes of orthopedic surgical procedures in the U.S., motivating tissue engineering attempts and the need for suitable animal models. Despite extensive use in cardiovascular research and the existence of characterization data for the menisci of farm pigs,...

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Autores principales: Gonzalez-Leon, Erik A., Hu, Jerry C., Athanasiou, Kyriacos A.
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Frontiers Media S.A. 2022
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8899164/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/35265605
http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fbioe.2022.844416
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author Gonzalez-Leon, Erik A.
Hu, Jerry C.
Athanasiou, Kyriacos A.
author_facet Gonzalez-Leon, Erik A.
Hu, Jerry C.
Athanasiou, Kyriacos A.
author_sort Gonzalez-Leon, Erik A.
collection PubMed
description Knee meniscus injuries are the most frequent causes of orthopedic surgical procedures in the U.S., motivating tissue engineering attempts and the need for suitable animal models. Despite extensive use in cardiovascular research and the existence of characterization data for the menisci of farm pigs, the farm pig may not be a desirable preclinical model for the meniscus due to rapid weight gain. Minipigs are conducive to in vivo experiments due to their slower growth rate than farm pigs and similarity in weight to humans. However, characterization of minipig knee menisci is lacking. The objective of this study was to extensively characterize structural and functional properties within different regions of both medial and lateral Yucatan minipig knee menisci to inform this model’s suitability as a preclinical model for meniscal therapies. Menisci measured 23.2–24.8 mm in anteroposterior length (33–40 mm for human), 7.7–11.4 mm in width (8.3–14.8 mm for human), and 6.4–8.4 mm in peripheral height (5–7 mm for human). Per wet weight, biochemical evaluation revealed 23.9–31.3% collagen (COL; 22% for human) and 1.20–2.57% glycosaminoglycans (GAG; 0.8% for human). Also, per dry weight, pyridinoline crosslinks (PYR) were 0.12–0.16% (0.12% for human) and, when normalized to collagen content, reached as high as 1.45–1.96 ng/µg. Biomechanical testing revealed circumferential Young’s modulus of 78.4–116.2 MPa (100–300 MPa for human), circumferential ultimate tensile strength (UTS) of 18.2–25.9 MPa (12–18 MPa for human), radial Young’s modulus of 2.5–10.9 MPa (10–30 MPa for human), radial UTS of 2.5–4.2 MPa (1–4 MPa for human), aggregate modulus of 157–287 kPa (100–150 kPa for human), and shear modulus of 91–147 kPa (120 kPa for human). Anisotropy indices ranged from 11.2–49.4 and 6.3–11.2 for tensile stiffness and strength (approximately 10 for human), respectively. Regional differences in mechanical and biochemical properties within the minipig medial meniscus were observed; specifically, GAG, PYR, PYR/COL, radial stiffness, and Young’s modulus anisotropy varied by region. The posterior region of the medial meniscus exhibited the lowest radial stiffness, which is also seen in humans and corresponds to the most prevalent location for meniscal lesions. Overall, similarities between minipig and human menisci support the use of minipigs for meniscus translational research.
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spelling pubmed-88991642022-03-08 Yucatan Minipig Knee Meniscus Regional Biomechanics and Biochemical Structure Support its Suitability as a Large Animal Model for Translational Research Gonzalez-Leon, Erik A. Hu, Jerry C. Athanasiou, Kyriacos A. Front Bioeng Biotechnol Bioengineering and Biotechnology Knee meniscus injuries are the most frequent causes of orthopedic surgical procedures in the U.S., motivating tissue engineering attempts and the need for suitable animal models. Despite extensive use in cardiovascular research and the existence of characterization data for the menisci of farm pigs, the farm pig may not be a desirable preclinical model for the meniscus due to rapid weight gain. Minipigs are conducive to in vivo experiments due to their slower growth rate than farm pigs and similarity in weight to humans. However, characterization of minipig knee menisci is lacking. The objective of this study was to extensively characterize structural and functional properties within different regions of both medial and lateral Yucatan minipig knee menisci to inform this model’s suitability as a preclinical model for meniscal therapies. Menisci measured 23.2–24.8 mm in anteroposterior length (33–40 mm for human), 7.7–11.4 mm in width (8.3–14.8 mm for human), and 6.4–8.4 mm in peripheral height (5–7 mm for human). Per wet weight, biochemical evaluation revealed 23.9–31.3% collagen (COL; 22% for human) and 1.20–2.57% glycosaminoglycans (GAG; 0.8% for human). Also, per dry weight, pyridinoline crosslinks (PYR) were 0.12–0.16% (0.12% for human) and, when normalized to collagen content, reached as high as 1.45–1.96 ng/µg. Biomechanical testing revealed circumferential Young’s modulus of 78.4–116.2 MPa (100–300 MPa for human), circumferential ultimate tensile strength (UTS) of 18.2–25.9 MPa (12–18 MPa for human), radial Young’s modulus of 2.5–10.9 MPa (10–30 MPa for human), radial UTS of 2.5–4.2 MPa (1–4 MPa for human), aggregate modulus of 157–287 kPa (100–150 kPa for human), and shear modulus of 91–147 kPa (120 kPa for human). Anisotropy indices ranged from 11.2–49.4 and 6.3–11.2 for tensile stiffness and strength (approximately 10 for human), respectively. Regional differences in mechanical and biochemical properties within the minipig medial meniscus were observed; specifically, GAG, PYR, PYR/COL, radial stiffness, and Young’s modulus anisotropy varied by region. The posterior region of the medial meniscus exhibited the lowest radial stiffness, which is also seen in humans and corresponds to the most prevalent location for meniscal lesions. Overall, similarities between minipig and human menisci support the use of minipigs for meniscus translational research. Frontiers Media S.A. 2022-02-21 /pmc/articles/PMC8899164/ /pubmed/35265605 http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fbioe.2022.844416 Text en Copyright © 2022 Gonzalez-Leon, Hu and Athanasiou. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
spellingShingle Bioengineering and Biotechnology
Gonzalez-Leon, Erik A.
Hu, Jerry C.
Athanasiou, Kyriacos A.
Yucatan Minipig Knee Meniscus Regional Biomechanics and Biochemical Structure Support its Suitability as a Large Animal Model for Translational Research
title Yucatan Minipig Knee Meniscus Regional Biomechanics and Biochemical Structure Support its Suitability as a Large Animal Model for Translational Research
title_full Yucatan Minipig Knee Meniscus Regional Biomechanics and Biochemical Structure Support its Suitability as a Large Animal Model for Translational Research
title_fullStr Yucatan Minipig Knee Meniscus Regional Biomechanics and Biochemical Structure Support its Suitability as a Large Animal Model for Translational Research
title_full_unstemmed Yucatan Minipig Knee Meniscus Regional Biomechanics and Biochemical Structure Support its Suitability as a Large Animal Model for Translational Research
title_short Yucatan Minipig Knee Meniscus Regional Biomechanics and Biochemical Structure Support its Suitability as a Large Animal Model for Translational Research
title_sort yucatan minipig knee meniscus regional biomechanics and biochemical structure support its suitability as a large animal model for translational research
topic Bioengineering and Biotechnology
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8899164/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/35265605
http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fbioe.2022.844416
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