Combined supplementation of ascorbic acid and thyroid hormone T affects tenocyte proliferation. The effect of ascorbic acid in the production of nitric oxide.

BACKGROUND

Tissue engineering is now increasingly focusing on cell-based treatments as promising tools to improve tendon repair. However, many crucial aspects of tendon biology remain to be understood before adopting the best experimental approach for cell-tissue engineering.

METHODS

The role played by Ascorbic Acid (AA) alone and in combination with thyroid hormone T in the viability and proliferation of primary human tendon-derived cells was investigated. Human tenocyte viability was detected by Trypan blue exclusion test and cellular proliferation rate was evaluated by CFSE CellTrace™. In addition, the potential role of the AA in the production of Nitric Oxide (NO) was also examined.

RESULTS

In this model, an increase in tenocyte proliferation rate was observed as a consequence of progressively increased concentrations of AA (from 10 to 50 µg/ml). The addition of the T hormone to the culture further increased tenocyte proliferation rate. In detail, the most evident effect on cellular growth was achieved using the combined supplementation of 50 µg/ml AA and 10 M T.

CONCLUSION

We showed that the highest concentration of AA (100 and 500 µg/ml) caused cytotoxicity to human tenocytes. Moreover, it was shown that AA reduces NO synthesis. These results show that AA is a cell proliferation inducer that triggers tenocyte growth, while it reduces NO synthesis.