Oesophageal morphometry and residual strain in a mouse model of osteogenesis imperfecta

Recently, it was demonstrated in the oesophagus that the zero-stress state is not a closed cylinder but an open circular cylindrical sector. The closed cylinder with no external loads applied is called the no-load state and residual strain is the difference in strain between the no-load state and the zero-stress state. To understand the physiology and pathology of the oesophagus, it is necessary to know the zero-stress state and the stress-strain relationships of the tissues in the oesophagus, and the changes of these states and relationships due to biological remodelling of the tissues under stress. The aim of this study was to investigate the morphological and biomechanical remodelling at the no-load and zero-stress states in mutant osteogenesis imperfecta murine (oim) mice with collagen deficiency. The oesophagi of seven oim and seven normal wild-type mice were excised, cleaned, and sectioned into rings in an organ bath containing calcium-free Krebs solution with dextran and EGTA. The rings were photographed in the no-load state and cut radially to obtain the zero-stress state. Equilibrium was awaited for 30 min and the specimens were photographed again. Circumferences, submucosa and muscle layer thicknesses and areas, and the opening angle were measured from the digitized images. The oesophagi in oim mice had smaller layer thicknesses and areas compared to the wild types. The largest reduction in layer thickness in oim mice was found in the submucosa (approximately 36%). Oim mice had significantly larger opening angles (120.2 +/- 4.5 degrees ) than wild-type mice (93.0 +/- 11.2 degrees ). The residual strain was compressive at the mucosal surface and tensile at the serosal surface in both oim and wild types. In the oim mice, the residual strains at the serosal and mucosal surfaces and the mucosa-submucosal-muscle layer interface were higher than in the wild types (P < 0.05). The gradient of residual strain per unit thickness was higher in oim mice than in wild-type mice, and was highest in submucosa (P < 0.05). The only morphometric measure that was similar in oim and wild-type mice was the inner circumference in the no-load state. In conclusion, our data show significant differences in the residual strain distribution and morphometry between oim mice and wild-type mice. The data suggest that the residual stress in oesophagus is caused by the tension in the muscle layer rather than the stiffness of the submucosa in compression and that the remodelling process in the oim oesophagus is due mainly to morphometric and biomechanical alterations in the submucosa.