Comparison of Structural Properties Between Postnatal and Adult Tendon Insertion with FIB/SEM Tomography in Rat

The repaired tendon-bone interface after rotator cuff (RC) repair has been identified as a mechanical weak point, which may contribute to re-tearing. Analyzing the postnatal development of a normal tendon insertion in detail may be useful in helping to promote the regeneration of a normal tendon insertion. We verified the morphological differences between postnatal and adult tendon insertions in terms of the cellular structural properties using FIB/SEM tomography.

SPostnatal and adult Sprague-Dawley rats were used as a model of tendon insertion. The morphological structure of the insertion was evaluated using hematoxylin and eosin (HE) staining, and the 3D ultrastructure of the cells in the insertion was evaluated using FIB/SEM tomography. Additionally, the volume of the cell bodies, nuclei, and cytoplasm were measured and compared in a quantitative analysis.

On conventional histology, the boundary line between the fibrocartilage and mineralized cartilage was flat in the adult insertions; however, the boundary line between the mineralized cartilage and bone formed deep interdigitations. The morphology of the cells among the collagen bundles in the adult insertions was completely different from those in the postnatal insertions at the 3D ultrastructural level. The cellular structural properties were statistically different between the postnatal and adult insertions.

In the present study, the morphological differences between postnatal and adult tendon insertion in terms of the ultrastructural cellular properties were clarified. These findings may aid in determining how to regenerate a clinically stable tendon insertion at the tendon-bone interface after RC repair.