Moderate forced running exercise induces cartilage adaptation but exacerbates the molecular cartilage phenotype of type IX collagen knockout mice

Moderate forced running exercise only slightly enhances the cartilage phenotype in aging female type IX collagen knockout mice and induces local, nondegenerative, structural and molecular adaptations in the articular cartilage ECM. Alterations in the cartilage phenotype do not depend on the age of the mice.