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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2021 Oct 25.
Published in final edited form as: Acta Biomater. 2021 Jul 27;134:43–56. doi: 10.1016/j.actbio.2021.07.046

Figure 2. High Tendon Loading Leads to Mechanical, Structural, and Biological Changes in Small Animal Models.

Figure 2.

High loading small animal studies induce multi-scale changes to tendon that are similar to tendinopathy. Increased cell rounding, apoptosis, vascularization, aberrant differentiation, inflammation, and altered growth factor production (increased TGF-b, IGF, and CTGF) are seen in some studies. Mechanically, increased hysteresis, and higher modulus may result. Structurally, increased collagen disorganization and altered non-collagenous matrix components are likely. Overall, between tendon types and loading protocols, there is no clear consensus for how high loading affects tendon. CSA – Cross-sectional Area; IL-6 – Interleukin-6; TGF-b – Transforming Growth Factor Beta; IGF – Insulin-like Growth Factor; CTGF - Connective Tissue Growth Factor