Immunohistochemical Study of Matrix Metalloproteinase-9 in Medial Collateral Ligament Epiligament in Rat Knee after Grade III Injury.

Abstract
Background: In the present study, we conduct an immunohistochemical analysis to evaluate the expression of matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) in the epiligament (EL) after grade III injury of the medial collateral ligament (MCL) in an experimental model of a rat knee. Methods: Twelve 8-month old male Wistar rats were used in this study. Three animals were used as controls, while the remaining nine underwent grade III injury of the MCL. The MMP-9 immunoreactivity was evaluated on the 8th, 16th and 30th day after injury. Results: We observed an intensive expression of the enzyme in all periods after injury in contrast with the control group. We also discovered that the main source of matrix metalloproteinase-9 was localized in the epiligament tissue. Immunoreactivity was highest and homogeneously distributed on the 8th day and gradually diminished, concentrating on the EL-ligament border and the perivascular zones on the 30th day. Conclusion: We present the first immunohistochemical study of the expression and distribution of the enzyme MMP-9 in the EL of the MCL and track the changes in enzyme activity on the 8th, 16th and 30th day after damage.
Description
Keywords
Matrix metalloproteinase-9, medial collateral ligament epiligament, grade III injury, immunohistochemical study
Citation
Iliev Alexandar, Georgiev Georgi P, Kotov Georgi, Dimitrova Iva N, Lina Malinova, Rashev Pavel, Tsankov Lubomir, Karabinov Vesselin, Landzhov Boycho. Immunohistochemical Study of Matrix Metalloproteinase-9 in Medial Collateral Ligament Epiligament in Rat Knee after Grade III Injury. Academia Anatomica International. 2017 Jan-June; 3(1): 20-25.