E$ects of mandibular hyperpropulsion

on the prechondroblastic zone

of young rat condyle
Jean-Paul
Jeanne
Strasbourg,

Charlier,
Herrmann-Stutzmann,
France

D.D.S.,

Alexandre

Petrovic,

M.D.,

D.Sc.,

and

LSc.

In a previous article1 we reported that, as evidenced in organ culture, the

spheno-occipital
synchondrosis and the cartilage of the nasal septum, where
growth takes place by the division of differentiated
chondroblasts, manifest
an independent growth potential but that the calvaria and facial sutures, where
growth occurs by the division of young connective cells, do not.
We also reported that only when growth takes place by proliferation
of
young connective cells are the mechanical forces able to stimulate or inhibit it.?
In the present article we will describe research conducted to study the
effects of an orthopedic treatment type of hyperpropulsion
in young rat condylar cartilage, in which growth occurs mainly by mitoses of the young cells
in the prechondroblastic
zone and only to a minor degree by mitoses of the
differentiated
cells of the chondroblastic zone.
Methods

Eight litters of 4-week-old rats (Sprague-Dawley

strain), six in each, were
ancst,hetizcd for 4 hours each day with Nembutal. One half of the animals in
each litter wore a device which put the mandible in hyperpropulsion,
whereas
the other half served as controls. The mandible is put in hyperpropulsion
by
means of a wire-net intraoral dericc which keeps the lower incisors ahead of
the upper incisors. The device is made fa.st by a strip set around the snout so
that it keeps the mouth slightly open.
After 4 weeks, the mandibular condyles wcrc fixed in 10 per cent formalin,
demineralized with EDTA, sectioned at 5 microns, and stained with hematoxylin and eosin, Van Giesons, Mallorys, P.A.S., toluidinc blue, and alcian blue
stains.
71

72

Charlier,

Petl-ovic, and Berrnza?l?a-l\t,lLtgnzcrll,r

Results

When compared to the controls, the condyles of the rats subjected to hg-perpropulsion showed the following characteristics :
1. The articular disc was significantly thiclrcr.
2. The articular zone was distinctly higher and the cells were rounder.
3. The prechondrololastic zone (the so-eilllcd inkmediate
zone) was
significantly
elongated (Figs. 1 and 2). This certainly results from an
increased cell proliferation,
as evidcncctl by a statistically significant rise
in the number of cell divisions as reported in a previous article. Individually, cells generally ha\-e a slightly larger and clearer nucleus. (Mean
surface increase is about 12 per cent.)

Fig.

Fig.

Figs.
one

1 and
(Fig.

dibular

2.

Condyles

of

1) as a control
hyperpropulsion.

comparison

of

the

significantly

increased

two

control

and

and

the

other

The

above

figures
in

length.

shows

treated

rats.

[Fig.

figures
that

2) being
show
the

These
put

sagittal

prechondroblastic

rats
for

came

from

a J-week

sections

through
zone

the

period
in the

the

same

litter,

under

man-

condyles.
treated

rat

is

4. The chondroblastic zone becomes also elongated, but the comparison

of results obtained after 1 to 4 weeks seems to favor the interpretation
that one is dealing here with a phenomenon secondary to the increased
act,ivity of the prechondroblastic
zone.
5. The angle drawn through the condyle to the inferior border of the
mandible in the treated animal is 3 degrees larger. At the same time, as
evidenced by tetracycline labeling, the periosteal bone apposition on
the posterior border and the rear of the inferior border of the mandible
was increased.
Discussion

The problem of whether the condylar cartilage actually responds to orthodontic therapy, although fundamental,
remains unanswered. Some evidence has
been reported in its favor, the most significant being that of Baume and
L)erichsweiller3 and H~ffer.~ However, most of the authors think that more information is needed before any firm conclusion can be drawn.
Experiences reported here show that an orthodontic
treatment
type of
hyperpropulsion
does hare an action on condylar cartilage growth and that
this action consists primarily
of stimulation
of mitotic activity of the prechondroblasts. In other words, mechanical forces do not play a role in the
growth of cpiphyseal cartilage of long bones, but, they definitely do in the
growth of condylar cartilage.
Ontogenetically,
the explanation for this difference might bc found in the
modalit,&
of growth, which is different in both cases-exclusively
interstitial
in long bones and mainly appositional and only slightly interstitial in condylar
cartilage. In this connection, young cells of the prechondroblastic
zone may
be compared to the young cells of periosteal ossification, and it is generally
agreed that mechanical factors can stimulate osteogenesis in periosteal boric.
Phylogenetically,
the explanation for this peculiar responsiveness to mechanical force might be found in the fact t,hat the temporomandibular
joint
in mammals appeared as the result of a secondary (in a way, adaptive) joining
of the squamosal and the dentary bones, along with the subsequent formation
of a eondylar cartilage.
Conclusion

Our short-term experiments in young rats show that hyperpropulsion

brings
about an additional growth of condylar cartilage by stimulating
the prechondroblastic zone cells.
They also establish the existence of a causal relationship
between the
intensity of condylar growth and the amount of periostcal bone apposition on
the posterior border and the rear of the inferior border of the mandible.
REFERENCES

1. Petrovic,
A., and Charlier,
J. P.: La synchondrose
sphbno-occipitale
de jeune rat en culture
dorganes-mise
en evidence
dun potentiel
de croissancc
indkpendant,
Compt.
rend. Acad.
SC.
265D:
1511-1513,
1967.
2. Charlier,
J. P.: Les facteurs
mkaniques
dans la croissance
de larc basal mandibulaire
2

la lumierc
dc lnnalyse
des cnrnct&res
struct.ur:lns
et ilcs propri6t6s
biologiqucs
ilu cnrtilngo
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10
ortllodont
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