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Local NO synthase inhibition produces histological and functional recovery in Achilles tendon of rats after tenotomy

Tendon repair and local NOS inhibition

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Abstract

Repair of injured tendon is a very slow process and involves the release of many molecules, including nitric oxide. We investigate the influence of local nitrergic inhibition in histological and functional recovery of injured Achilles tendon. A standard murine model of tendon injury by rupture was used. The animals were divided into three experimental groups: control, injury + vehicle (normal saline) and injury + Nω-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME). The products were injected into the paratendinous region every 2 days and body weight gain and Achilles functional index (AFI) were evaluated on days 0, 7, 14 and 21 after tendon injury. On day 21 post-injury, the animals were killed to evaluate nitric oxide production and tissue organization. We observed that tendon surgical division led to increased tissue nitrite levels, which were reduced in L-NAME-treated rats. The AFI revealed functional recovery of L-NAME-treated animals on day 21 post-injury, which was not observed in the saline-treated group. Microscopic analysis of hematoxylin-eosin staining and collagen autofluorescence showed that L-NAME-treated rats had more aligned areas of collagen fibers and that the diameter of newly organized collagen in this group was also greater than that in the vehicle-treated one. We demonstrate that local treatment with L-NAME significantly improves the functional parameters and accelerates histomorphological recovery.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal do Pará, Belém, Brazil

    Suellen A. S. Moraes, Karen R. M. Oliveira, Maria E. Crespo-López, Domingos L. W. Picanço-Diniz & Anderson M. Herculano

  2. Physiology, Universidade Federal do Oeste do Pará, Belém, Brazil

    Anderson M. Herculano

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  1. Suellen A. S. Moraes
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  2. Karen R. M. Oliveira
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  3. Maria E. Crespo-López
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  4. Domingos L. W. Picanço-Diniz
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  5. Anderson M. Herculano
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Correspondence to Anderson M. Herculano.

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Moraes, S.A.S., Oliveira, K.R.M., Crespo-López, M.E. et al. Local NO synthase inhibition produces histological and functional recovery in Achilles tendon of rats after tenotomy. Cell Tissue Res 353, 457–463 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00441-013-1662-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00441-013-1662-2

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