Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 10, 2025

Surgical Retrieval, Isolation and In vitro Expansion of Human Anterior Cruciate Ligament-derived Cells for Tissue Engineering Applications
Published on: April 30, 2014
Collagen Fibril Diameter Distribution of Sheep Anterior Cruciate Ligament
Smail Smatov1, Fariza Mukasheva1, Cevat Erisken1
1Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering, Nazarbayev University, Astana 010000, Kazakhstan.
Abstract:
The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tissue is a soft tissue connecting the femur and tibia at the knee joint and demonstrates a limited capacity for self-regeneration due to its low vascularity. The currently available clinical procedures are unable to fully restore damaged ACL tissue, and tissue engineering can offer options with a potential of restoring the torn/ruptured ACL by using biomimetic constructs that are similar to native tissue in terms of structure, composition, and functions. However, a model substrate to understand how the ACL cells regenerate the injured tissue is still not available. In this study, it is hypothesized that the nanofiber-based model substrate with bimodal and unimodal fiber diameter distributions will mimic the diameter distribution of collagen fibrils seen in healthy and injured sheep ACL, respectively. The aims were to (i) create an ACL injury in a sheep ACL by applying extensional force to rupture the healthy ACL tissue, (ii) measure the collagen fibril diameter distributions of healthy and injured ACL, (iii) fabricate polycaprolactone (PCL) nanofiber-based model constructs using electrospinning with diameter distributions similar to healthy and injured ACL tissue, and (iv) measure mechanical properties of ACL tissue and PCL electrospun constructs. The results showed that the fiber diameter distributions of PCL electrospun constructs and those of the healthy and injured ACL tissues were similar. The novelty in this investigation is that the collagen fibril diameter distribution of healthy and injured sheep ACL tissues was reported for the first time. The study is significant because it aims to create a model construct to solve an important orthopedic-related clinical problem affecting millions of people globally. The model construct fabricated in this work is expected to have an important impact on ACL regeneration efforts.
Related Concept Videos
Fibril-associated Collagen
For example, the type II collagen fibrils in cartilage have covalently bound type IX fibril-associated collagens at regular intervals. Other types of fibril-associated collagens are...
Type IV Collagen of Basal Lamina
A type IV collagen molecule has six alpha chains which can...
Collagens are the Major Structural Proteins of ECM
Connective tissue proper includes loose...
Dense Connective Tissue
Dense Regular Connective Tissue
In dense regular connective tissue, fibers are arranged parallel to each other, enhancing its tensile strength and resistance to stretching in the direction of the fiber orientations. Ligaments and tendons are made of dense regular...
Fibrous Proteins
Structural Protein Function
Collagen, the most abundant protein in mammals, is found throughout the body. In connective tissue, such as skin, ligaments, and tendons, it provides tensile strength and elasticity. In bones and teeth, it mineralizes to...

