Plyometric training increases thickness and volume of knee articular cartilage in mice
Degeneration and thinning of articular cartilage lead to osteoarthritis and may result from reduced joint loading during e.g. bed rest or as a result of microgravity during space flight. Anabolic physical exercises for cartilage are not well studied to date. We built an experimental apparatus for plyometric training with mice to test potential benefits of jumping for articular cartilage. The exercise group (JUMP) performed jump training for 9 weeks and was compared with sedentary mice (control, CON) and hindlimb-suspended (HLS) mice (to simulate reduced loading) for the same duration. Knee cartilage was assessed via 3-dimensional reconstruction of micro-CT scans and histology. We observed significant thinning and volume reduction of articular cartilage at the medial tibial-femoral point of contact in the HLS group. Clustering of chondrocytes was present in HLS. By contrast, the JUMP group showed both cartilage thickening and volume increase. We observed a similar trend on trabecular bone thickness and volume. Our results show that plyometric training can stimulate cartilage thickness and volume in mice. This suggests further investigation of this mode of exercise as a countermeasure to prevent cartilage atrophy in disuse scenarios such as long duration spaceflight, and for patients at risk of developing osteoarthritis.
Authors
- Colin Norman (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5222-5717)
- Joseph Rehfus
- Anna‐Maria Liphardt (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0739-1959)
- Mark Shelhamer (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5040-6573)
- Neelima Thottappillil (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3973-7117)
- Stephen C. Hope
- M. Chiaberge (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1564-3802)
- Chen‐Ming Fan (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3211-6617)
- Johnny Huard
- Aaron W. James (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2002-622X)
- Marc J. Philippon (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0358-3331)
- Anja Niehoff (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4165-0929)
- Christine Wang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8706-7157)
- Stephen A. Smee
- Dylan Odell
- A. Furlanetto
Institutions
- Space Telescope Science Institute (US)
- German Sport University Cologne (DE)
- Johns Hopkins University (US)
- University of Cologne (DE)
- Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (DE)
- Carnegie Institution for Science (US)
- Johns Hopkins Medicine (US)
- Universitätsklinikum Erlangen (DE)
- Steadman Clinic (US)
- Department of Embryology (US)
- Université Bourgogne Franche-Comté (FR)
- Steadman Philippon Research Institute (US)
Publication Details
- Journal
- npj Microgravity
- Published
- 2025-02-13
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s41526-025-00458-z
- Citations
- 2
- Primary Topic
- Osteoarthritis Treatment and Mechanisms
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 3.34
Funders
- Carnegie Institution of Washington
- Johns Hopkins University
- Steadman Philippon Research Institute
- Space Telescope Science Institute
- European Space Agency
- Universität zu Köln
- Deutsche Sporthochschule Köln
- Universitätsklinikum Erlangen
- Department of Pathology, Johns Hopkins University