Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Shanghai 9th People's Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, PR China.
Biomaterials. 2010 May;31(14):3894-902. doi: 10.1016/j.biomaterials.2010.01.106. Epub 2010 Feb 19.
Repair of injured tendon sheath remains a major challenge and this study explored the possibility of in vivo reconstruction of a tendon sheath with tendon sheath derived cells and polyglycolic acid (PGA) fibers in a Leghorn hen model. Total 55 Leghorn hens with a 1cm tendon sheath defect created in the left middle toe of each animal were randomly assigned into: (1) experimental group (n=19) that received a cell-PGA construct; (2) scaffold control group (n=18) that received a cell-free PGA scaffold; (3) blank control group (n=18) with the defect untreated. Tendon sheath cells were isolated, in vitro expanded, and seeded onto PGA scaffolds. After in vitro culture for 7 days, the constructs were in vivo implanted to repair the sheath defects. Alcian blue staining confirmed the ability of cultured cells to produce specific matrices containing acidic carboxyl mucopolysaccharide (mainly hyaluronic acid). In addition, the engineered sheath formed a relatively mature structure at 12 weeks post-surgery, which was similar to that of native counterpart, including a smooth inner surface, a well-developed sheath histological structure with a clear space between the tendon and the engineered sheath. More importantly, Work of Flexion assay revealed that the tendons needed less power consumption to glide inside the engineered sheath when compared to the tendons which were surrounded by scar-repaired tissues, indicating that the engineered sheaths had gained the function to a certain extent of preventing tendon adhesion. Taken together, these results suggest that tendon sheaths that are functionally and structurally similar to native sheaths are possible to be engineered in vivo using tendon sheath cells and PGA scaffolds.
在活体鸡模型中，利用肌腱鞘细胞和聚乙醇酸（PGA）纤维构建肌腱鞘的实验研究
本研究旨在探索利用肌腱鞘细胞和 PGA 纤维在活体鸡模型中构建类似天然结构的肌腱鞘的可能性。总共 55 只来亨鸡，每只动物的左中趾都有 1cm 的肌腱鞘缺损，将它们随机分为三组：（1）实验组（n=19），接受细胞-PGA 构建体；（2）支架对照组（n=18），接受无细胞 PGA 支架；（3）空白对照组（n=18），不做任何处理。从肌腱鞘中分离出细胞，在体外进行扩增，并种植到 PGA 支架上。体外培养 7 天后，将构建体植入体内修复鞘缺损。阿利新蓝染色证实了培养细胞产生含有酸性羧基粘多糖（主要是透明质酸）的特定基质的能力。此外，工程化鞘在术后 12 周形成了相对成熟的结构，与天然鞘相似，包括光滑的内表面、发育良好的鞘组织学结构，肌腱和工程化鞘之间有明显的间隙。更重要的是，弯曲功测定显示，与被瘢痕组织包裹的肌腱相比，肌腱在工程化鞘内滑动时需要消耗更少的能量，这表明工程化鞘在一定程度上获得了防止肌腱粘连的功能。综上所述，这些结果表明，使用肌腱鞘细胞和 PGA 支架，有可能在活体中构建具有天然鞘类似功能和结构的肌腱鞘。
