Effect of age on the failure properties of human meniscus: High-speed strain mapping of tissue tears

Nesbitt, Derek Q.; Siegel, Danielle; Nelson, Sean J.; Lujan, Trevor J.

doi:10.1016/j.jbiomech.2020.110126

Cited by 15 publications

(22 citation statements)

References 35 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…To this end, a better understanding of the rela-tionship between mechanical properties and structural components is needed at different developmental stages. Thus far, this correlation at different phases of development and age has been scarcely investigated [24,25]. Hence, the goal of our study was to evaluate how development and different sites and orientations influence the biomechanics of the meniscus.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Several studies have indicated that the meniscal extracellular matrix degenerates with aging, thus leading to changes in the compositional structure of the meniscus and non-physiological loading, which significantly affects overall joint health [23,24]. Kwok et al [24] assessed the nanomechanical properties of young healthy, aged, and osteoarthritic tissue using atomic force microscopy, whereas Nesbitt et al [25] evaluated the effect of age on the failure behavior of the meniscus through a uniaxial tensile test. In a recent study, Bansal et al [21] investigated the changes of radial and circumferential collagen networks with maturation in terms of structure and tensile properties.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Evolution of Meniscal Biomechanical Properties with Growth: An Experimental and Numerical Study

et al. 2021

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The menisci of the knee are complex fibro-cartilaginous tissues that play important roles in load bearing, shock absorption, joint lubrication, and stabilization. The objective of this study was to evaluate the interaction between the different meniscal tissue components (i.e., the solid matrix constituents and the fluid phase) and the mechanical response according to the developmental stage of the tissue. Menisci derived from partially and fully developed pigs were analyzed. We carried out biochemical analyses to quantify glycosaminoglycan (GAG) and DNA content according to the developmental stage. These values were related to tissue mechanical properties that were measured in vitro by performing compression and tension tests on meniscal specimens. Both compression and tension protocols consisted of multi-ramp stress–relaxation tests comprised of increasing strains followed by stress–relaxation to equilibrium. To better understand the mechanical response to different directions of mechanical stimulus and to relate it to the tissue structural composition and development, we performed numerical simulations that implemented different constitutive models (poro-elasticity, viscoelasticity, transversal isotropy, or combinations of the above) using the commercial software COMSOL Multiphysics. The numerical models also allowed us to determine several mechanical parameters that cannot be directly measured by experimental tests. The results of our investigation showed that the meniscus is a non-linear, anisotropic, non-homogeneous material: mechanical parameters increase with strain, depend on the direction of load, and vary among regions (anterior, central, and posterior). Preliminary numerical results showed the predominant role of the different tissue components depending on the mechanical stimulus. The outcomes of biochemical analyses related to mechanical properties confirmed the findings of the numerical models, suggesting a specific response of meniscal cells to the regional mechanical stimuli in the knee joint. During maturation, the increase in compressive moduli could be explained by cell differentiation from fibroblasts to metabolically active chondrocytes, as indicated by the found increase in GAG/DNA ratio. The changes of tensile mechanical response during development could be related to collagen II accumulation during growth. This study provides new information on the changes of tissue structural components during maturation and the relationship between tissue composition and mechanical response.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evolution of Meniscal Biomechanical Properties with Growth: An Experimental and Numerical Study

et al. 2021

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…1a) and transverse (Fig. 1b) specimens 30 . For boundary conditions, the grip was modeled as a rigid body with an irrotational sliding elastic tension contact at the top of the coupon, while the axis normal to each plane of symmetry was fixed.…”

mentioning

confidence: 96%

“…A validation Tensile tests using DIC. An in-depth description of the experimental methods for the uniaxial tensile tests can be found in our previous experimental paper 30 . In this prior study, human menisci were harvested from cadaveric knees that were obtained through an accredited tissue bank (Science Care Inc., Pheonix, AZ), and all experimental protocols were approved by the Institutional Biosafety Committee at Boise State University.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A mesh convergence study was conducted to determine the effect of mesh refinement on tensile strain along the loading axis (E yy ) when a grip-to-grip stretch of 1.20 was applied. Tensile strain was selected as the criterion for mesh convergence since strain is the outcome measure we're comparing to our prior experimental results 30 . The mesh convergence study found that refinement increased the tensile strain (E yy ; averaged in the ROI), although this increase exhibited a plateauing trend (Fig.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Finite element modeling of meniscal tears using continuum damage mechanics and digital image correlation

Nesbitt

Burruel

Henderson

et al. 2023

Sci Rep

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Meniscal tears are a common, painful, and debilitating knee injury with limited treatment options. Computational models that predict meniscal tears may help advance injury prevention and repair, but first these models must be validated using experimental data. Here we simulated meniscal tears with finite element analysis using continuum damage mechanics (CDM) in a transversely isotropic hyperelastic material. Finite element models were built to recreate the coupon geometry and loading conditions of forty uniaxial tensile experiments of human meniscus that were pulled to failure either parallel or perpendicular to the preferred fiber orientation. Two damage criteria were evaluated for all experiments: von Mises stress and maximum normal Lagrange strain. After we successfully fit all models to experimental force–displacement curves (grip-to-grip), we compared model predicted strains in the tear region at ultimate tensile strength to the strains measured experimentally with digital image correlation (DIC). In general, the damage models underpredicted the strains measured in the tear region, but models using von Mises stress damage criterion had better overall predictions and more accurately simulated experimental tear patterns. For the first time, this study has used DIC to expose strengths and weaknesses of using CDM to model failure behavior in soft fibrous tissue.

show abstract

Age‐dependent changes in collagen crosslinks reduce the mechanical toughness of human meniscus

Nesbitt,

Pu,

Turner

et al. 2024

Journal Orthopaedic Research

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The mechanical resilience of the knee meniscus is provided by a group of structural proteins in the extracellular matrix. Aging can alter the quantity and molecular structure of these proteins making the meniscus more susceptible to debilitating tears. In this study, we determined the effect of aging on the quantity of structural proteins and collagen crosslinks in human lateral meniscus, and examined whether the quantity of these molecules was predictive of tensile toughness (area under the stress‐strain curve). Two age groups were tested: a young group under 40 and an older group over 65 years old. Using mass spectrometry, we quantified the abundance of proteins and collagen crosslinks in meniscal tissue that was adjacent to the dumbbell‐shaped specimens used to measure uniaxial tensile toughness parallel or perpendicular to the circumferential fiber orientation. We found that the enzymatic collagen crosslink deoxypyridinoline had a significant positive correlation with toughness, and reductions in the quantity of this crosslink with aging were associated with a loss of toughness in the ground substance and fibers. The non‐enzymatic collagen crosslink carboxymethyl‐lysine increased in quantity with aging, and these increases corresponded to reductions in ground substance toughness. For the collagenous (Types I, II, IV, VI, VIII) and non‐collagenous structural proteins (elastin, decorin, biglycan, prolargin) analyzed in this study, only the quantity of collagen VIII was predictive of toughness. This study provides valuable insights on the structure‐function relationships of the human meniscus, and how aging causes structural adaptations that weaken the tissue's mechanical integrity.

show abstract

Effect of age on the failure properties of human meniscus: High-speed strain mapping of tissue tears

Cited by 15 publications

References 35 publications

Evolution of Meniscal Biomechanical Properties with Growth: An Experimental and Numerical Study

Evolution of Meniscal Biomechanical Properties with Growth: An Experimental and Numerical Study

Finite element modeling of meniscal tears using continuum damage mechanics and digital image correlation

Age‐dependent changes in collagen crosslinks reduce the mechanical toughness of human meniscus

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About