Figure 4
From: Pleiotropic roles of the matricellular protein Sparc in tendon maturation and ageing
Mechanical properties of flexor tendons.
(a) Representative force-elongation curves for C57BL/6 mouse flexor tendons of young and healthy-aged wild type and Sparc−/− animals. (b–e) Compared to young tendon tissue (n = 23), the maximum load to failure was significantly lower for Sparc−/− flexor tendons (n = 16), but not for healthy-aged tendons (n = 17). A significant difference in stiffness was only observed for healthy-aged tendons (increase), whereas the elastic modulus was increased for both, healthy-aged and young Sparc−/− tendons. However, the ultimate tensile stress (stress to failure) was comparable for all groups. ***P < 0.001, **P < 0.01, *P < 0.05 One-way ANOVA (Tukey’s Multiple Comparison Test). (f) Cross-sectional area of young (n = 23) and healthy-aged wild type (n = 17) flexor tendons is significantly greater compared to Sparc−/− (n = 16) flexor tendons. **P < 0.01, *P < 0.05 One-way ANOVA (Tukey’s Multiple Comparison Test).
