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Published on: June 9, 2018
Growth-related changes in the ultrastructure of the quadriceps tendon
Mitsuhiro Kimura1, Junsuke Nakase2, Tatsuya Ishikawa3
1Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Graduate School of Medical Science, Kanazawa University, Kanazawa, Japan; Department of Orthopedic Surgery, National Hospital Organization, Kanazawa Medical Center, Kanazawa, Japan.
Background:
The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of growth on the ultrastructural characteristics of the quadriceps tendon (QT).
Methods:
Eighteen included patients were classified into three groups based on age and epiphyseal plate condition: the 'immature group' consisted of patients with open epiphyseal plates (11.5 ± 1.6 years old; mean ± standard deviation), the 'young group' consisted of patients aged <20 years with closed epiphyseal plates (15.8 ± 1.0 years), and the 'adult group' consisted of all patients aged >20 years (29.8 ± 11.3 years) irrespective of epiphyseal plate condition. Tendon tissue samples were used for ultrastructural analysis by transmission electron microscopy. Minimum collagen fibril diameters were measured from the cross sections of collagen fibril images using Image J software. The average number of collagen fibers per sample was 797 ± 109, and the average collagen fibril diameter of each sample was compared using one-way analysis of variance.
Results:
The mean collagen fibril diameter was 89.7 ± 14.4 nm in the immature group, 94.8 ± 16.4 nm in the young group, and 107.2 ± 12.1 nm in the adult group, with significant differences between the immature and adult groups, and between the young and adult groups (P = 0.001 and P = 0.021, respectively); however, no significant differences were observed between the immature and young adult groups (P = 0.49).
Conclusions:
The collagen fibril diameter of the QT was found to have increased with growth. The study provided insights into graft selection.
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