We investigated the capacity of human umbilical cord perivascular cells (HUCPVCs) to repair tendon damage in a collagenase tendon injury model in rats. Our hypothesis was that HUCPVCs would be able to produce an organized extracellular matrix and facilitate tissue regeneration in this rat model. HUCPVCs were injected, in collagenase, into the Achilles tendon of nude rats. Harvested tendons showed the presence of HUCPVCs at the site of injury, whose morphology changed from rounded to elongated over the post-injury time of 30 days. Human genes for collagen type 1 and -actin were expressed at all time points and there was also a significant increase in the tensile strength and stiffness values at 30 day post-injury in the experimental group. We conclude that HUCPVCs facilitated regeneration in our model, and thus may be a putative cell source for the treatment of tendon and ligament injuries.
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