Abstract
The knee meniscus exhibits significant spatial variations in biochemical composition and cell morphology that reflect distinct phenotypes of cells located in the radial inner and outer regions. Associated with these cell phenotypes is a spatially heterogeneous microstructure and mechanical environment with the innermost regions experiencing higher fluid pressures and lower tensile strains than the outer regions. It is presently unknown, however, how meniscus tissue mechanics correlate with the local micromechanical environment of cells. In this study, theoretical models were developed to study mechanics of inner and outer meniscus cells with varying geometries. The results for an applied biaxial strain predict significant regional differences in the cellular mechanical environment with evidence of tensile strains along the collagen fiber direction of ~0.07 for the rounded inner cells, as compared to levels of 0.02–0.04 for the elongated outer meniscus cells. The results demonstrate an important mechanical role of extracellular matrix anisotropy and cell morphology in regulating the region-specific micromechanics of meniscus cells, that may further play a role in modulating cellular responses to mechanical stimuli.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Ahmed AM (1992) The load-bearing role of the knee menisci. In: Mow VC, Arnoczky SP, Jackson DW (eds) Knee Meniscus: Basic and Clinical Foundations. Raven Press, New York, pp 59–74
Alexopoulos LG, Setton LA, Guilak F (2005) The biomechanical role of the chondrocyte pericellular matrix in articular cartilage. Acta Biomaterialia 1:317–325
Arnoczky SP, Warren RF (1983) The microvasculature of the meniscus and its response to injury: an experimental study in the dog. Am J Sports Med 11(3):131–141
Bachrach NM, Valhmu WB, Stazzone E, Ratcliffe A, Lai WM, Mow VC (1995) Changes in proteoglycan synthesis of chondrocytes in articular cartilage are associated with time-dependent changes in their mechanical environment. J Biomech 28(12):1561–1569
Baer AE, Setton LA (2000) The micromechanical environment of intervertebral disc cells: effect of matrix anisotropy and cell geometry predicted by a linear model. J Biomech Eng 122(3):245–251
Baer AE, Laursen TA, Guilak F, Setton LA (2003) The micromechanical environment of intervertebral disc cells determined by a finite deformation, anisotropic, and, biphasic finite element model. J Biomech Eng 125:1–11
Bass EC, Ashford FA, Segal MR, Lotz JC (2004) Biaxial testing of human annulus fibrosus and its implications for a constitutive formulation. Ann Biomed Eng 32(9):1231–1242
Bhargava M, Attia E, Murrell G, Dolan M, Warren R, Hannafin J (1999) The effect of cytokines on the proliferation and migration of bovine meniscal cells. Am J Sports Med 27(5):636–642
Cheung HS (1987) Distribution of type I, II, III and V in the pepsin solubilized collagens in bovine menisci. Conn Tiss Res 16:343–356
Collier S, Ghosh P (1995) Effects of transforming growth factor beta on proteoglycan synthesis by cell and explant cultures derived from the knee joint meniscus. Osteoarthr Cartil 3:127–138
Deschner J, Wypasek E, Ferretti M, Rath B, Anghelina M, Agarwal S (2005) Regulation of RANKL by biomechanical loading in fibrochondrocytes of meniscus. J Biomech (in press)
Eshleby JD (1957) The determination of the elastic field outside an ellipsoidal inclusion, and related problems. Proc Royal Soc A 241:376–396
Fermor B, Jeffcoat D, Hennerbichler A, Pisetsky D, Weinberg JB, Guilak F (2004) The effects of cyclic mechanical strain and tumor necrosis factor alpha on the response of cells of the meniscus. Osteoarthr Cartil 12:956–962
Fink C, Fermor B, Weinberg JB, Pisetsky DS, Misukonis MA, Guilak F (2001) The effect of dynamic mechanical compression on nitric oxide production in the meniscus. Osteoarthr Cartil 9:481–487
Ghadially FN, Tomas I, Lalonde NY, Lalonde JMA (1978) Ultrastructure of rabbit semilunar cartilages. J Anat 125(3):499–517
Guilak F, Mow VC (2000) The mechanical environment of the chondrocyte: a biphasic finite element model of cell-matrix interactions in articular cartilage. J Biomech 33:1663–1673
Guilak F, Ting-Beall HP, Baer AE, Trickey WR, Erickson GR, Setton LA (1999) Viscoelastic properties of intervertebral disc cells - identification of two biomechanically distinct cell populations. Spine 24:2475–2483
Guilak F, Erickson GR, Ting-Beall HP (2002) The effects of osmotic stress on the viscoelastic and physical properties of articular chondrocytes. Biophys J 82(2):720–727
Haider MA (2004) A radial biphasic model for local cell-matrix mechanics in articular cartilage. SIAM J Appl Math 64(5):1588–1608
Hashimoto J, Kurosaka M, Yoshiya S, Hirohata K (1992) Meniscal repair using fibrin sealant and endothelial cell growth factor. An experimental study in dogs. Am J Sports Med 20(5):537–541
Hellio Le Graverand MP, Ou Y, Schield-Yee T, Barclay L, Hart D, Natsume T, Rattner JB (2001) The cells of the rabbit meniscus: their arrangement, interrelationship, morphological variations and cytoarchitecture. J Anat 198:525–535
Hennerbichler A, Fermor B, Weinberg JB, Pisetsky D, Guilak F (2005) Regional differences in nitric oxide production in response to different magnitudes of compression in the meniscus. Trans Orthop Res Soc 30:477
Hochmuth RM (2000) Micropipette aspiration of living cells. J Biomech 33(1):15–22
Holmes MH, Mow VC (1990) The nonlinear characteristics of soft gels and hydrated connective tissues in ultrafiltration. J Biomech 23:1145–1156
LeRoux MA, Setton LA (2002) Experimental and biphasic FEM determinations of the material properties and hydraulic permeability of the meniscus in tension. J Biomech Eng 124:315–321
LeRoux MA, Upton ML, Laursen TA, Setton LA (2001) Biphasic finite element modeling of tear effects on the mechanics of the meniscus. Proc ASME Summer Bioeng Conf 50:851–852
Levy IM, Torzilli PA, Fisch ID (1992) The contribution of the menisci to the stability of the knee. In: Mow VC, Arnoczky SP, Jackson DW (eds) Knee meniscus. Basic and clinical foundations. Raven Press, New York, pp 107–116
Lipkhitpanichkul M, Guo X, Lai WM, Mow VC (2004) Tension-compression nonlinearity influences the mechano-electrochemical environment of chondrocytes in cartilage under unconfined compression. Trans Orthop Res Soc 29:525
Lynch HA, Elliott D (2004) Fiber-matrix interactions in a 3-D anisotropic strain energy model of tendon. Trans Orthop Res Soc 29:855
McCarty EC, Marx RG, DeHaven KE (2002) Meniscus repair: considerations in treatment and update of clinical results. Clin Orthop Rel Res 402:122–134
McDevitt CA, Mukherjee S, Kambic H, Parker R (2002) Emerging concepts of the cell biology of the meniscus. Curr Opin Orthop 13:345–350
Mow VC, Kuei SC, Lai WM, Armstrong CG (1980) Biphasic creep and stress relaxation of articular cartilage in compression: theory and experiments. J Biomech Eng 102:73–84
Nakata K, Shino K et al. (2001) Human meniscus cell: characterization of the primary culture and use for tissue engineering. Clin Orthop Rel Res 391S:S208–S218
Newman AP, Anderson DR, Daniels AU, Dales MC (1989) Mechanics of the healed meniscus in a canine model. Am J Sports Med 17(2):164–175
Port J, Jackson DW, Lee TQ, Simon TM (1996) Meniscal repair supplemented with exogenous fibrin clot and autogenous cultured marrow cells in the goat model. Am J Sports Med 24(4):547–555
Proctor CS, Schmidt MB, Whipple RR, Kelly MA, Mow VC (1989) Material properties of the normal medial bovine meniscus. J Orthop Res 7:771–782
Quapp KM, Weiss JA (1998) Material characterization of human medial collateral ligament. J Biomech Eng 120:757–763
Roughley PJ, White RJ (1992) The dermatan sulfate proteoglycans of the adult human meniscus. J Orthop Res 10(5):631–637
Sato M, Theret DP, Wheeler LT, Ohshima N, Nerem RM (1990) Application of the micropipette technique to the measurement of cultured porcine aortic endothelial cell viscoelastic properties. J Biomech Eng 112(3):263–268
Setton LA, Chen J (2004) Cell mechanics and mechanobiology in the intervertebral disc. Spine 29(23):2710–2723
Spilker RL, Donzelli PS, Mow VC (1992) A transversely isotropic biphasic finite element model of the meniscus. J Biomech 25:1027–1045
Spindler KP, Miller RR, Andrish JT, McDevitt CA (1994) Comparison of collagen synthesis in the peripheral and central region of the canine meniscus. Clin Orthop Rel Res 303:256–263
Spindler KP, Mayes C, Miller R, Imro A, Davidson J (1995) Regional mitogenic response of the meniscus to platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF-AB). J Orthop Res 13:201–207
Tanaka T, Fujii K, Kumagae Y (1999) Comparison of biochemical characteristics of cultured fibrochondrocytes isolated from the inner and outer regions of human meniscus. Knee 7:75–80
Trickey WR, Lee GM, Guilak F (2000) Viscoelastic properties of chondrocytes from normal and osteoarthritic human cartilage. J Orthop Res 18:891–898
Upton ML, Chen J, Setton LA (2006) Region-specific constitutive gene expression in the adult porcine meniscus. J Orthop Res (In Press)
Upton ML, Hennerbichler A, Fermor B, Setton LA, Weinberg JB, Guilak F (2005) Gene expression and biosynthesis activity of inner and outer meniscus cells following primary culture and cyclic tensile stretch. Trans Orthop Res Soc 30:910
Wu JZ, Herzog W (2000) Finite element simulation of location- and time-dependent mechanical behavior of chondrocytes in unconfined compression tests. Ann Biomed Eng 28(3):318–330
Wu JZ, Herzog W, Epsetin M (1999) Modelling of location- and time-dependent deformation of chondrocytes during cartilage loading. J Biomech 32(6):563–572
Wyland DJ, Guilak F, Elliott DM, Setton LA, Vail TP (2002) Chondropathy after meniscal tear or partial meniscectomy in a canine model. J Orthop Res 20:996–1002
Yasunaga T, Kimura M, Kikuchi S (2001) Histologic change of the meniscus and cartilage tissue after meniscal suture. Clin Orthop Rel Res 387:232–240
Zhang H (2000) Geometric and Finite Element Modeling of the Tibio-Menisco-Femoral Contact under Passive Knee Joint Motion (PhD Thesis) Mechanical Engineering. University of Rochester, Rochester, NY: 155
Zhu W, Chern KY, Mow VC (1994) Anisotropic viscoelastic shear properties of bovine meniscus. Clin Orthop Rel Res 306:34–45
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding authors
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Upton, M.L., Guilak, F., Laursen, T.A. et al. Finite Element Modeling Predictions of Region-specific Cell-matrix Mechanics in the Meniscus. Biomech Model Mechanobiol 5, 140–149 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10237-006-0031-4
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10237-006-0031-4