Division of Developmental Biology, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Research Foundation, Cincinnati, Ohio 45229, USA.
Tissue Eng Part B Rev. 2011 Jun;17(3):165-76. doi: 10.1089/ten.TEB.2010.0662. Epub 2011 Mar 21.
Tendons connect muscles to bones, and serve as the transmitters of force that allow all the movements of the body. Tenocytes are the basic cellular units of tendons, and produce the collagens that form the hierarchical fiber system of the tendon. Tendon injuries are common, and difficult to repair, particularly in the case of the insertion of tendon into bone. Successful attempts at cell-based repair therapies will require an understanding of the normal development of tendon tissues, including their differentiated regions such as the fibrous mid-section and fibrocartilaginous insertion site. Many genes are known to be involved in the formation of tendon. However, their functional roles in tendon development have not been fully characterized. Tissue engineers have attempted to generate functional tendon tissue in vitro. However, a lack of knowledge of normal tendon development has hampered these efforts. Here we review studies focusing on the developmental mechanisms of tendon development, and discuss the potential applications of a molecular understanding of tendon development to the treatment of tendon injuries.
肌腱将肌肉与骨骼相连，是使身体能够进行各种运动的力的传递者。腱细胞是肌腱的基本细胞单位，它们产生胶原，形成肌腱的层次纤维系统。肌腱损伤很常见，而且难以修复，尤其是在肌腱插入骨骼的部位。成功实施基于细胞的修复治疗需要了解肌腱组织的正常发育，包括其分化区域，如纤维中段和纤维软骨插入部位。已知许多基因参与了肌腱的形成。然而，它们在肌腱发育中的功能作用尚未完全阐明。组织工程师已经尝试在体外生成功能性肌腱组织。然而，对正常肌腱发育的知识的缺乏阻碍了这些努力。在这里，我们回顾了一些专注于肌腱发育发育机制的研究，并讨论了对肌腱发育的分子理解在治疗肌腱损伤方面的潜在应用。
