Fig. 1

Study protocol schematic. Non-invasive ACL rupture was performed on the right knee of anesthetized male (n = 28) and female (n = 29) Sprague Dawley rats, and confirmed by a positive anterior drawer test, prior to recovery from anesthesia. Three days after ACL rupture, re-anesthetized animals underwent ACLR surgery to repair the ruptured ACL using a tail tendon autograft. Animals were randomized to Saline control (1 h 0.9% NaCl IV drip with IA bolus of 0.9% NaCl) or ALM treatment (1 h 0.9% NaCl ALM IV drip with IA bolus of 0.9% NaCl ALM) groups. Blood samples were collected the day before surgery (-24 h), at completion of the IV drip (1 h post-surgery), and at 24, 72 and 120 h post-surgery. A subset of animals (n = 5 per group) was euthanized 72 h post-surgery for terminal joint tissue analyses. IV, intravenous; IA, intra-articular