Vascular adaptation of intact joint stabilizing structures in the posterior cruciate ligament deficient rabbit knee

Loss of the posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) of the knee has a significant impact on joint stability and biomechanical function. Changes in joint biomechanics may result in mal-adaptive tissue degeneration and functional alteration of supporting ligaments. This study examines the effects of joint laxity on the vascular physiology of the intact anterior cruciate (ACL) and medial collateral (MCL) ligaments after PCL transection in rabbits.One-year-old female New Zealand white rabbits were assigned to control (n=12), sham-operated (n=12) or PCL transected (2, 6 or 16 weeks, n=12 per time point) groups. Half of the animals (n=6 per group) were used for ACL and MCL blood flow determination using coloured microsphere infusion (ml/min/100 g), and half were used for vascular volume determination (given as vascular index, micro l/g). In the MCL, PCL transection induced large, significant (4-5-fold) increases in blood flow (peak at 2 weeks) and vascular index (peak at 6 weeks) compared to sham-operated animals that returned towards control values by 16 weeks. In contrast, the ACL showed no increase in blood flow in lax joints, and a relatively small (2-fold) increase in vascular index at 6 weeks only. The wet weight and water content of both the MCL and ACL were significantly increased in PCL-deficient joints. We conclude that joint laxity (instability) subsequent to loss of the PCL in rabbits impacts the vascular physiology of intact supporting ligaments, inducing both vasomotor and angiogenic responses in the MCL. Changes in wet weight and water content of both the MCL and ACL demonstrate prolonged physiological adaptation of intact structures in lax joints.