Fibrochondrogenic differentiation potential of tendon-derived stem/progenitor cells from human patellar tendon

摘要

BackgroundBone–tendon junction (BTJ) is a unique structure connecting tendon and bone through a fibrocartilage zone. Owing to its unique structure, the regeneration of BTJ remains a challenge. Here, we study the fibrochondrogenic differentiation of human tendon-derived stem/progenitor cells (TSPCs) bothin vitroandin vivo.MethodsTSPCs were isolated from human patellar tendon tissues and investigated for their multidifferentiation potential. TSPCs were cultured in chondrogenic medium with transforming growth factor beta 3 (TGF-β3) and BMP-2in vitro??and examined for the expression of fibrochondrogenic marker genes by quantitative real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and immunofluorescence. TSPCs pretreated were also seeded in collage II sponge and then transplanted in immunocompromised nude mice to examine if the fibrochondrogenic characteristics were conservedin vivo.ResultsWe found that TSPCs were differentiated towards fibrochondrogenic lineage, accompanied by the expression of collagen I, collagen II, SRY-box transcription factor 9 (Sox 9), and tenascin C. Furthermore, after TSPCs were seeded in collagen II sponge and transplanted in immunocompromised nude mice, they expressed fibrochondrogenic genes, including proteoglycan, collagen I, and collagen II.ConclusionTaken together, this study showed that TSPCs are capable of differentiating towards fibrocartilage-like cells, and the fibrochondrogenic characteristics were conserved evenin vivo, and thus might have the potential application for fibrocartilage regeneration in BTJ repair.The translational potential of this articleTSPCs are able to differentiate into fibrocartilage-like cells and thus might well be one potential cell source for fibrocartilage regeneration in a damaged BTJ repair.