Effects of shock wave therapy on abnormal bone remodeling at the tendon insertion points and biomechanics in rats with rotator cuff injury by regulating the TGF-β1/Smads signaling pathway
XU Jie
WU Peng
XU Gang
Abstract：Objective To investigate the effects of shock wave(SW)therapy on abnormal bone remodeling at tendon insertion points and biomechanics in rats with rotator cuff injury by regulating the transforming growth factor-beta1(TGF-β1)/Smads signaling pathway.Methods Male Sprague-Dawley(SD)rats were randomly separated into Sham group,Model group,SW group,and SW+SRI-011381(TGF-β1/Smads signaling pathway activator)group.ELISA was applied to detect serum interleukin-1beta(IL-1β),IL-6,tumor necrosis factor-alpha(TNF-α),C-terminal telopeptide of type Ⅰ collagen(CTX-Ⅰ),and CTX-Ⅱ.The biomechanics of the shoulder joint was tested.The hematoxylin and eosin(H&E)staining and safranin O/fast green(SO-FG)staining were applied to observe the pathological morphology of cartilage.Tartaric acid phosphatase(TRAP)staining was applied to detect osteoclastogenesis.Western blot was applied to detect the protein expressions of matrix metalloproteinase-3(MMP-3),MMP-13,osteogenic transcription factor(Osterix),TGF-β.,Smad2,and p-Smad2 in subchondral bone tissue.Results Compared with the Sham group,rats in the Model group had irregular arrangement of articular chondrocytes,obviously thickened calcified cartilage,and lighter safranine O staining,significantly higher serum IL-1 β,IL-6,TNF-α,CTX-Ⅰ,and CTX-Ⅱ,osteoclast count,protein levels of MMP-3,MMP-13,Osterix,TGF-β1,and p-Smad2/Smad2 in subchondral bone tissue of rats,and lower damage load of rats was obviously reduced(P＜0.05).Compared with the Model group,the morphology of articular chondrocytes in the SW group was obviously improved,with obviously thinner calcified cartilage and deeper safranine staining,lower serum IL-1β,IL-6,TNF-α,CTX-Ⅰ,and CTX-Ⅱ,osteoclast count,and protein levels of MMP-3,MMP-13,Osterix,TGF-β1,and p-Smad2/Smad2 in subchondral bone tissue,and higher damage load of rats(P＜0.05).SRI-011381 could weaken the improvement effect of SW on abnormal bone remodeling in rats with rotator cuff injury(P＜0.05).Conclusion SW treatment can reduce inflammation and cartilage damage in rats with rotator cuff injury,and improve abnormal bone remodeling at tendon insertion points by inhibiting the TGF-β1/Smads signaling pathway.
Keywords：shockwavetransforming growth factor-beta1(TGF-β1)/Smads signaling pathwayshoulder sleeve injurybone remodelingbiomechanics
Publication Date：2025-10-26
Online Publishing Date：2025-11-19(First online date of this platform, not the publication date of the document)
Pages：5( 1633-1637 )