Effect of diet and mouse type on body weight, tendon lipid content and tendon cross-sectional area.

<p>Red bars represent 15 weeks on diet, green 30 weeks. C57Bl/6 and ApoE -/- mice are denoted as “+/+” and “-/-,” respectively. A) Mice were weighed at the start and end of the experiment. The weights of all experimental groups were equivalent at the start of the study (not shown). After 15 or 30 weeks, the mice on high fat diet were heavier than those on normal chow, and C57Bl6 mice on a high fat diet gained more weight than ApoE -/- mice (p>0.05). B) Tendon lipid content was quantified as positivity ratio of Oil Red O staining in tendon. Lipid content was significantly different between mouse types, with increased tendon lipid content in C57Bl/6 mice (p<0.01). C). Graph shows the cross-sectional area, measured with grey scale ultrasonography, from the right patellar tendons. Cross-sectional area was significantly different between mouse types, with increased thickness in ApoE -/- mice (p<0.05).