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Differential expression of neural cell adhesion molecule (NCAM) after tenotomy in rabbit skeletal muscle
Amir A Jamali1, Pouya Afshar, Reid A Abrams
1Department of Orthopaedics, UC San Diego School of Medicine, Veterans Affairs and University of California Medical Centers, 92161, USA.
Abstract:
Tenotomy is a commonly encountered event in orthopaedic surgery. In 23 rabbit extensor digitorum longus (EDL) muscles, within 24 h after tenotomy, a marked drop in maximum force production occurred. This was not explainable based on architectural changes and histological examination using standard markers for muscle injury, i.e., haematoxylin and eosin morphology, developmental myosin heavy chain (MHC) immunolabeling, and quantitation of muscle fiber type percentage, area and distribution. The expression of neural cell adhesion molecule (NCAM), a glycoprotein expressed during muscle development was measured as a function of time in these muscles. NCAM expression was increased as early as one day after tenotomy with 2.2+/-1.2% of the fibers showing positive expression. This expression level increased significantly to 15.4+/-15.2% after 7 days and then subsided to 13.2+/-10.6% 21 days after tenotomy. Two-way analysis of variance demonstrated a significant effect of time and a significant time x tenotomy method interaction. These results suggest that tenotomy leads to possible changes in muscle-nerve connections and/or excitation-contraction (EC) coupling.
Insights
Tenotomy significantly reduces muscle force within 24 hours, unrelated to structural damage. Increased neural cell adhesion molecule (NCAM) expression suggests altered muscle-nerve connections or excitation-contraction coupling post-tenotomy.
Area of Science:
- Orthopaedic Surgery
- Muscle Physiology
- Neuroscience
Background:
- Tenotomy, a surgical tendon cutting, is common in orthopaedics.
- Early post-tenotomy muscle dysfunction is observed but not explained by standard injury markers.
Purpose of the Study:
- Investigate molecular changes following tenotomy.
- Explore the role of neural cell adhesion molecule (NCAM) in post-tenotomy muscle response.
Main Methods:
- Induced tenotomy in rabbit extensor digitorum longus (EDL) muscles.
- Assessed muscle force production, histology, and NCAM expression over 21 days.
Main Results:
- A rapid drop in muscle force production occurred within 24 hours.
- Histological analysis showed no significant muscle injury markers.
- NCAM expression increased significantly from day 1 to day 7 post-tenotomy.
Conclusions:
- Tenotomy-induced muscle weakness is not due to structural damage.
- Elevated NCAM suggests potential alterations in muscle-nerve interactions or excitation-contraction coupling.
