Authors: Hiroki Tsutsumi, Ryota Kurimoto, Ryo Nakamichi, Tomoki Chiba, Takahide Matsushima, Yuta Fujii, Risa Sanada, Tomomi Kato, Kana Shishido, Yuriko Sakamaki, Tsuyoshi Kimura, Akio Kishida, Hiroshi Asahara
Summary: Tendons and ligaments are essential connective tissues that connect the muscle and bone. Their recovery from injuries is known to be poor, highlighting the crucial need for an effective therapy. A few reports have described the development of artificial ligaments with sufficient strength from human cells. In this study, we successfully generated a tendon-like tissue (bio-tendon) using human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs). We first differentiated human iPSCs into mesenchymal stem cells (iPSC-MSCs) and transfected them with Mohawk (Mkx) to obtain Mkx-iPSC-MSCs, which were applied to a newly designed chamber with a mechanical stretch incubation system. The embedded Mkx-iPSC-MSCs created bio-tendons and exhibited an aligned extracellular matrix structure. Transplantation of the bio-tendons into a mouse Achilles tendon rupture model showed host-derived cell infiltration with improved histological score and biomechanical properties. Taken together, the bio-tendon generated in this study has potential clinical applications for tendon/ligament-related injuries and diseases.
Source: Journal of Tissue Engineering, 2022; 13: 204173142210740