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Relationship between mechanical properties (shear modulus and viscosity), age, and sex in uninjured Achilles tendons.

ABSTRACT: Tendon mechanical properties have been proposed as a biomarker of tendon health to track response to injury and treatment. Prior to utilizing these properties in an injured population, it is critical to understand how these are influenced by age and sex in an uninjured population. A retrospective analysis was conducted of 118 uninjured Achilles tendons to evaluate the relationship between tendon mechanical properties, age and sex. Mechanical properties (shear modulus and viscosity) were assessed using continuous shear wave elastography. A moderator regression analysis was completed to examine the relationship between tendon mechanical properties, age and sex, after adjusting for body mass index and physical activity level. There was an interaction between age and sex for shear modulus (p=0.049, R² change=0.034). Females had a negative relationship between age and shear modulus (p=0.030, β=-0.350) but no relationship was observed for males (p=0.78, β=0.031). A positive relationship was found between age and viscosity (p=0.034, β=0.214). Increased viscosity was related to increased age with no difference between sexes. The effect of aging on shear modulus differed between men and women and may help explain sex specific injury risks and their differing response to mechanical load.

SUBMITTER: Sprague AL

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7665100 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Project description:INTRODUCTION:The risk of tendon injury and disease increases significantly with increasing age. The aim of the study was to characterise transcriptional changes in human Achilles tendon during the ageing process in order to identify molecular signatures that might contribute to age-related degeneration. METHODS:RNA for gene expression analysis using RNA-Seq and quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction analysis was isolated from young and old macroscopically normal human Achilles tendon. RNA sequence libraries were prepared following ribosomal RNA depletion, and sequencing was undertaken by using the Illumina HiSeq 2000 platform. Expression levels among genes were compared by using fragments per kilobase of exon per million fragments mapped. Differentially expressed genes were defined by using Benjamini-Hochberg false discovery rate approach (P<0.05, expression ratios 1.4 log2 fold change). Alternative splicing of exon variants were also examined by using Cufflinks. The functional significance of genes that showed differential expression between young and old tendon was determined by using ingenuity pathway analysis. RESULTS:In total, the expression of 325 transcribed elements, including protein-coding transcripts and non-coding transcripts (small non-coding RNAs, pseudogenes, long non-coding RNAs and a single microRNA), was significantly different in old compared with young tendon (±1.4 log2 fold change, P<0.05). Of these, 191 were at higher levels in older tendon and 134 were at lower levels in older tendon. The top networks for genes differentially expressed with tendon age were from cellular function, cellular growth, and cellular cycling pathways. Notable differential transcriptome changes were also observed in alternative splicing patterns. Several of the top gene ontology terms identified in downregulated isoforms in old tendon related to collagen and post-translational modification of collagen. CONCLUSIONS:This study demonstrates dynamic alterations in RNA with age at numerous genomic levels, indicating changes in the regulation of transcriptional networks. The results suggest that ageing is not primarily associated with loss of ability to synthesise matrix proteins and matrix-degrading enzymes. In addition, we have identified non-coding RNA genes and differentially expressed transcript isoforms of known matrix components with ageing which require further investigation.

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Relationship between mechanical properties (shear modulus and viscosity), age, and sex in uninjured Achilles tendons.

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