M. Tuominen et al., GROWTH AND TYPE-II COLLAGEN EXPRESSION IN THE GLENOID FOSSA OF THE TEMPOROMANDIBULAR-JOINT DURING ALTERED LOADING - A STUDY IN THE RAT, European journal of orthodontics, 18(1), 1996, pp. 3-9
The aim of this study was to measure changes in growth of the glenoid
fossa and its articular eminence after decreased loading. A further ai
m was to evaluate the role of mechanical forces in relation to the exi
stence of a cartilage layer, by determining type-II collagen secretion
. A total of 99 Wistar rats were used: 48 animals were fed whole pelle
ts and 51 were fed ground pellets. At age 21 days, after weaning, the
upper and lower incisors of the soft-diet group were shortened by cutt
ing them, twice a week. Ten animals fed whole pellets and 10 fed groun
d pellets were injected i.p. with Alizarin red (200 mg/kg) at ages 22,
30 and 40 days, and killed at ages 30, 40 and 50 days respectively. T
he heads were freed from the soft tissue and the zygomatic process cut
sagittally at the deepest point of the greatest transversal concavity
of the eminence. Bone apposition was measured. The other animals were
used for studies involving collagen II immunostaining. Bone growth de
creased in the group fed ground pellets except in the anterior-most pa
rt of the glenoid fossa at 50 days. Immunohistochemical analysis revea
led larger areas of anti-collagen II staining in the group fed whole p
ellets, most markedly in the posterior part of the glenoid fossa. Grow
th of the articulating surface of the temporal component of the tempor
omandibular joint appears to depend on mechanical factors, such as the
condyle. The underlying mechanics seem likely to be different. The pr
esence of type-II collagen is obviously not regulated only by compress
ive forces but probably also by tension loading.