Obesity/Type II Diabetes Promotes Function-limiting Changes in Murine Tendons that are not reversed by Restoring Normal Metabolic Function

• Published in: Scientific reports 2018-06, Vol.8 (1), p.9218-10, Article 9218
• Main Authors: Studentsova, Valentina, Mora, Keshia M., Glasner, Melissa F., Buckley, Mark R., Loiselle, Alayna E.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: 14/28; 14/35; 631/80/304; 64/60; 692/163/2743/137/138; Animal models; Diabetes; Diabetes mellitus; Diet; Gliding; High fat diet; Humanities and Social Sciences; Low fat diet; Mechanical properties; Metabolism; multidisciplinary; Nutrient deficiency; Obesity; S100A4 protein; Science; Science (multidisciplinary); Tendons; Therapeutic applications
• ISSN: 2045-2322; 2045-2322
• DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-27634-4

Type II Diabetes (T2DM) negatively alters baseline tendon function, including decreased range of motion and mechanical properties; however, the biological mechanisms that promote diabetic tendinopathy are unknown. To facilitate identification of therapeutic targets we developed a novel murine model of diabetic tendinopathy. Mice fed a High Fat Diet (HFD) developed diet induced obesity and T2DM and demonstrated progressive impairments in tendon gliding function and mechanical properties, relative to mice fed a Low Fat Diet (LFD). We then determined if restoration of normal metabolic function, by switching mice from HFD to LFD, was sufficient to halt the pathological changes in tendon due to obesity/T2DM. However, switching from a HFD to LFD resulted in greater impairments in tendon gliding function than mice maintained on a HFD. Mechanistically, IRβ signaling is decreased in obese/T2DM murine tendons, suggesting altered IRβ signaling as a driver of diabetic tendinopathy. However, knock-down of IRβ expression in S100a4-lineage cells (IRcKO S100a4 ) was not sufficient to induce diabetic tendinopathy as no impairments in tendon gliding function or mechanical properties were observed in IRcKO S100a4 , relative to WT. Collectively, these data define a murine model of diabetic tendinopathy, and demonstrate that restoring normal metabolism does not slow the progression of diabetic tendinopathy.