Affiliations: Biomechanics Laboratory, Division of Orthopedic Research, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, 200 First Street S.W., Rochester, MN, USA
Note: [] Address for correspondence: Kai-Nan An, PhD, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, Biomechanics Laboratory, Division of Orthopedic Research, 200 First Street SW, Rochester, MN, USA. Tel.: +1 507 538 1717; Fax: +1 507 284 5392; E-mail: an@mayo.edu.
Abstract: Knowledge of the adaptation of the soft tissue to mechanical factors and biomolecules would be essential to better understand the mechanism of tendon injury and to improve the outcome of tendon repair. The responses to these factors could be different for the distinct types of cells in the tendon: cells from the tendon sheath, fibroblasts from the epitenon surface, or fibroblasts from the internal endotenon. In this study, we examined the mechanical and histological characteristics of the rate of contraction of the collagen gel seeded with epitenon and endotenon fibroblasts. The rate of contraction and the mechanical property of the contracted construct depend on the gel concentration and also the treatment of TGF-β1.
Keywords: Gel concentration, TGF-β, fibroblast, tendon, cell culture, biomechanics
Journal: Biorheology, vol. 43, no. 3-4, pp. 337-345, 2006
