Effect of dietary consistency on matrix synthesis and composition in the rat condylar cartilage

Little is known of how the matrix of the condylar cartilage of the mandible changes in response to an alteration in local biomechanical circumstances, although this has been a habitual focus of studies of articular cartilage in the orthopedic literature. This study was formulated to investigate (1) whether matrix changes would occur in the condylar cartilage of rats fed a diet of soft consistency, a circumstance which would presumably reduce articular forces at the mandibular joint; (2) whether these changes, once established, could be reversed by restoring a diet of hard rat pellets, and (3) if these changes were localized to a particular region(s) of the cartilage. In the first experiment, male Sprague-Dawley rats were provisioned with either a soft, mushy diet or hard rat pellets beginning at weaning and subsequently sacrificed at 44 days of age. In the second experiment, all animals were initially given the soft diet, but in half a normal hard diet was reinstituted for 7 days prior to sacrifice at 44 days of age. In the third experiment, cartilages from rats fed soft and hard diets were subdivided into a superior fraction (that portion directly opposite the cranial articulation) and a posterior fraction. The results of experiment 1 showed the water content of the condylar cartilage to be significantly reduced in the soft-diet group, as well as one measure of [35S]uptake into sulfated glycosaminoglycans ([35S]sulfate dpm/micrograms uronic acid). Both wet and dry tissue weights of the condylar cartilage were greatly reduced in rats fed a soft diet.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)