title: A high-glucose diet affects Achilles tendon healing in rats.
abstract: Chronic and acute tendinopathies are difficult to treat and tendon healing is generally a very slow and incomplete process and our general understanding of tendon biology and regeneration lags behind that of muscle or bone. Although still largely unexplored, several studies suggest a positive effect of nutritional interventions on tendon health and repair. With this study, we aim to reveal effects of a high-glucose diet on tendon neoformation in a non-diabetic rat model of Achilles tenotomy. After surgery animals received either a high-glucose diet or a control diet for 2 and 4 weeks, respectively. Compared to the control group, tendon repair tissue thickness and stiffness were increased in the high-glucose group after 2 weeks and gait pattern was altered after 1 and 2 weeks. Cell proliferation was up to 3-fold higher and the expression of the chondrogenic marker genes Sox9, Col2a1, Acan and Comp was significantly increased 2 and 4 weeks post-surgery. Further, a moderate increase in cartilage-like areas within the repair tissue was evident after 4 weeks of a high-glucose diet regimen. In summary, we propose that a high-glucose diet significantly affects tendon healing after injury in non-diabetic rats, potentially driving chondrogenic degeneration.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Tendon & Bone Regeneration, Paracelsus Medical University Salzburg, Spinal Cord Injury and Tissue Regeneration Centre Salzburg, Salzburg, AT, Austria.|Austrian Cluster for Tissue Regeneration, Vienna, AT, Austria.
authors.forename: Stefanie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Korntner
authors.affiliation: Institute of Tendon & Bone Regeneration, Paracelsus Medical University Salzburg, Spinal Cord Injury and Tissue Regeneration Centre Salzburg, Salzburg, AT, Austria.|Austrian Cluster for Tissue Regeneration, Vienna, AT, Austria.|University Hospital of Salzburg, Department of Trauma Surgery and Sports Injuries, Salzburg, AT, Austria.
authors.forename: Nadja
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Kunkel
authors.affiliation: Institute of Tendon & Bone Regeneration, Paracelsus Medical University Salzburg, Spinal Cord Injury and Tissue Regeneration Centre Salzburg, Salzburg, AT, Austria.|Austrian Cluster for Tissue Regeneration, Vienna, AT, Austria.
authors.forename: Christine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Lehner
authors.affiliation: Institute of Tendon & Bone Regeneration, Paracelsus Medical University Salzburg, Spinal Cord Injury and Tissue Regeneration Centre Salzburg, Salzburg, AT, Austria.|Austrian Cluster for Tissue Regeneration, Vienna, AT, Austria.
authors.forename: Renate
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Gehwolf
authors.affiliation: Institute of Tendon & Bone Regeneration, Paracelsus Medical University Salzburg, Spinal Cord Injury and Tissue Regeneration Centre Salzburg, Salzburg, AT, Austria.|Austrian Cluster for Tissue Regeneration, Vienna, AT, Austria.
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Wagner
authors.affiliation: Institute of Biomechanics, Trauma Center Murnau, Murnau, DE, Germany.
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Augat
authors.affiliation: Institute of Biomechanics, Trauma Center Murnau, Murnau, DE, Germany.
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Stephan
authors.affiliation: University Hospital of Salzburg, Department of Paediatrics, Salzburg, AT, Austria.
authors.forename: Verena
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Heu
authors.affiliation: Institute of Tendon & Bone Regeneration, Paracelsus Medical University Salzburg, Spinal Cord Injury and Tissue Regeneration Centre Salzburg, Salzburg, AT, Austria.|Austrian Cluster for Tissue Regeneration, Vienna, AT, Austria.
authors.forename: Hans-Christian
authors.initials: HC
authors.lastname: Bauer
authors.affiliation: Institute of Tendon & Bone Regeneration, Paracelsus Medical University Salzburg, Spinal Cord Injury and Tissue Regeneration Centre Salzburg, Salzburg, AT, Austria.|Austrian Cluster for Tissue Regeneration, Vienna, AT, Austria.
authors.forename: Andreas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Traweger
authors.affiliation: Institute of Tendon & Bone Regeneration, Paracelsus Medical University Salzburg, Spinal Cord Injury and Tissue Regeneration Centre Salzburg, Salzburg, AT, Austria. herbert.tempfer@pmu.ac.at.|Austrian Cluster for Tissue Regeneration, Vienna, AT, Austria. herbert.tempfer@pmu.ac.at.
authors.forename: Herbert
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Tempfer
mesh_terms: D000125:Achilles Tendon / Q000378:metabolism*; D000818:Animals; D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena; D049109:Cell Proliferation; D004032:Diet; D005684:Gait; D015870:Gene Expression; D005947:Glucose; D009929:Organ Size; D051381:Rats; D013708:Tendon Injuries / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D014945:Wound Healing
chemical_list: D005947:Glucose