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Are the mechanoreceptors present in the bone patella tendon bone autograft after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction?
Arthrosc Orthop Sports Med 2024;11:64-69
Published online November 1, 2024;  https://doi.org/10.14517/aosm24013
© 2024 Korean Arthroscopy Society and Korean Orthopedic Society for Sports Medicine.

Sun Ho Lee1, Keun Churl Chun1, Kwang Il Koh1, Sung Hoon Kim1, Hyang Jeong Jo2, Churl Hong Chun1

1Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Mokpo Hankook Hospital, Mokpo; 2Department of Pathology, Gunsan Medical Center, Gunsan, Korea
Correspondence to: Churl Hong Chun, https://orcid.org/0009-0001-5127-6811
Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Mokpo Hankook Hospital, 483 Yeongsan-ro, Mokpo 58643, Korea. Tel: +82-61-270-5652, Fax: +82-61-277-0199, E-mail: chunch65@naver.com
Received October 11, 2024; Accepted October 11, 2024.
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Abstract
Background: Mechanoreceptors are subtypes of somatosensory receptors. It conveys not only kinetic stimuli but also pressure, stretching, touch, and even a sound wave. Few studies have determined whether mechanoreceptors are present in the bone–patellar tendon–bone (BPTB) autograft used during anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR). This study aimed to investigate whether mechanoreceptors are present in auto BPTB after ACLR.
Methods: Tissue samples were obtained from four participants who had undergone reruptured BPTB autograft during ACLR revision. In the control group, four biopsy specimens of the normal patellar tendon were obtained from patients who had undergone total knee arthroplasty. To check the presence of mechanoreceptors, H&E staining was performed. Immunohistochemical studies were also performed on all biopsy specimens to identify neuronal and neurolytic markers using monoclonal antibodies against glial fibrillary acidic protein, neuron-specific enolase, neurofilament, and S-100 protein.
Results: H&E staining did not reveal any mechanoreceptors in the ruptured auto BPTB ACLR group. No neural tissue analogs, confirmed to be mechanoreceptors with monoclonal antibodies by the ultraview DAB detection kit, were found in all specimens obtained from the ruptured auto BPTB ACLR group. However, mechanoreceptors were found in the control group by H&E and immunohistochemical staining.
Conclusion: In this study, BPTB autografts did not have any mechanoreceptors. Thus, no mechanoreceptors are preserved in the ACLR despite using the BPTB autograft. This study supports the advantage of the remnant-preserving techniques for ACLR.
Keywords : Anterior cruciate ligament; Mechanoreceptors; Reconstruction; Autografts
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November 2024, 11 (2)
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