Mechanical and Chemical Properties of Various Connective Tissue Organs in Rats as Influenced by Non-Steroidal Antirheumatic Drugs

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Abstract
Mechanical and chemical properties were studied in established and in newly formed collagenous tissues of rats after 10 days' treatment with various doses of acetylsalicylic acid, phenylbutazone and indomethacin. Breaking strength of femur bone, tensile strength of femoral epiphyseal cartilage, tensile strength of skin, tensile strength of tail tendons and tensile strength of granulomas induced by implantation of glass rods were measured. Soluble fractions of collagen, insoluble and total collagen were estimated. Glycosaminoglycan fractions were determined by papain digestion, cetylpyridinium chloride precipitation and column chromatography. High doses of each of the antirheumatic drugs induced an increase of strength in all collagenous tissues. However, the degree of the increase and the sensitivity to low doses varied greatly between the different organs. Tail tendons showed an increase of tensile strength with low doses and gave steep dose response curves for each drug. Tensile strength of skin also paralleled dose response curves. Tensile strength of femoral epiphyseal cartilage showed a considerable dose-dependent increase with acetylsalicylic acid but not with indomethacin and phenylbutazone. In glass rod granuloma high doses resulted in a rise of tensile strength. Breaking strength of bones was only slightly changed even by high doses. In each tissue the increase of strength was associated with an increase of insoluble and total collagen whereas the soluble fractions remained almost unchanged. No significant changes of glycosaminoglycan fractions have been found. The results were compared with the effects of corticosteroids and D-penicillamine observed in earlier studies.