Composition, architecture and biomechanical properties of articular cartilage in differently loaded areas of the equine stifle

Strategies for articular cartilage repair need to take into account topographical differences in tissue composition and architecture to achieve durable functional outcome. These have not yet been investigated in the equine stifle. To analyse the biochemical composition and architecture of three differently loaded areas of the equine stifle. We hypothesise that site differences correlate with the biomechanical characteristics of the cartilage. Ex vivo study. Thirty osteochondral plugs per location were harvested from the lateral trochlear ridge (LTR), the distal intertrochlear groove (DITG) and the medial femoral condyle (MFC). These underwent biochemical, biomechanical and structural analysis. A linear mixed model with location as a fixed factor and horse as a random factor was applied, followed by pair-wise comparisons of estimated means with false discovery rate correction, to test for differences between locations. Correlations between biochemical and biomechanical parameters were tested using Spearman's correlation coefficient. Glycosaminoglycan content was different between all sites (estimated mean [95% confidence interval (CI)] for LTR 75.4 [64.5, 88.2], for intercondylar notch (ICN) 37.3 [31.9, 43.6], for MFC 93.7 [80.1109.6] μg/mg dry weight), as were equilibrium modulus (LTR2.20 [1.96, 2.46], ICN0.48 [0.37, 0.6], MFC1.36 [1.17, 1.56] MPa), dynamic modulus (LTR7.33 [6.54, 8.17], ICN4.38 [3.77, 5.03], MFC5.62 [4.93, 6.36] MPa) and viscosity (LTR7.49 [6.76, 8.26], ICN16.99 [15.88, 18.14], MFC8.7 [7.91,9.5]°). The two weightbearing areas (LTR and MCF) and the non-weightbearing area (ICN) differed in collagen content (LTR 139 [127, 152], ICN176[162, 191], MFC 127[115, 139] μg/mg dry weight), parallelism index and angle of collagen fibres. The strongest correlations were between proteoglycan content and equilibrium modulus (r: 0.642; p: 0.001), dynamic modulus (r: 0.554; p