Figure 5.

Effects of uniaxial treatment on matrix metalloproteinase-13 (MMP-13) expression in traction and gliding tendons. (A) Representative images of immunohistochemically stained sections against MMP-13 in traction (upper panel) and gliding (lower panel) region after 48 h of uniaxial force application. (B) Scoring of MMP-13 in the traction region revealed a slight increase in the expression of MMP-13; its highest expression came about at 48 h of treatment. A similar increase was observed in the gliding tendon. Note that MMP-13 exhibited a slower protein expression response to the application of uniaxial force than MMP-1 did. Further, MMP-13 expression was higher in the gliding tendon during the whole experiment. Asterisks indicating statistical differences in comparison to the 0 h control time point within the traction group, letters indicate statistical difference in comparison to the control time point within the gliding group, and hashtags indicate traction vs. gliding within the different time points.