Department of Biomedical Engineering, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio.
Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio.
J Biomed Mater Res B Appl Biomater. 2019 Aug;107(6):1864-1876. doi: 10.1002/jbm.b.34279. Epub 2018 Nov 28.
Despite advancements in surgical techniques and materials for rotator cuff repair procedures, primary repair failures remain common. This study examines the use of electrochemically aligned collagen (ELAC) threads woven into biotextile scaffolds as grafts to repair critical infraspinatus tendon defects in New Zealand White rabbits. Three surgical treatment groups were evaluated: rabbits undergoing direct repair as operative controls, rabbits receiving ELAC scaffolds alone, and rabbits treated with mesenchymal stem cell (MSC)-seeded ELAC scaffolds. In each animal, the intact, contralateral infraspinatus served as an internal positive control. Tendon-bone constructs were harvested after 3 months in vivo and outcome measures included biomechanical testing, histological staining, and immunohistochemical staining. Biomechanical testing revealed that maximum load-bearing capacity was comparable between all groups, while MSC-seeded scaffold repairs exhibited increased stiffness relative to non-seeded scaffold repairs. Histological staining revealed robust collagen deposition around ELAC fibers and increased cellularity within the continuum of woven scaffolds as compared to native tendon. Immunohistochemical staining revealed presence of collagens I and III in all groups, but procollagen I and the tendon-specific marker tenomodulin were only observed in seeded and non-seeded ELAC scaffold repairs. Findings of this pilot study warrant continued investigation of ELAC biotextile scaffolds for repair of critically-sized rotator cuff tendon defects. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part B: Appl Biomater 107B: 1864-1876, 2019.
尽管在肩袖修复手术技术和材料方面取得了进展，但初次修复失败仍然很常见。本研究探讨了将电化学排列胶原（ELAC）线编织成生物纺织支架作为移植物修复新西兰白兔关键冈下肌腱缺损的用途。评估了三个手术治疗组：作为手术对照的直接修复兔子、单独接受 ELAC 支架的兔子和接受间充质干细胞（MSC）接种的 ELAC 支架的兔子。在每个动物中，完整的对侧冈下肌作为内部阳性对照。体内 3 个月后收获肌腱 - 骨构建体，结果测量包括生物力学测试、组织学染色和免疫组织化学染色。生物力学测试表明，所有组的最大承载能力相当，而 MSC 接种支架修复表现出比非接种支架修复更高的刚度。组织学染色显示，ELAC 纤维周围有大量胶原蛋白沉积，与天然肌腱相比，编织支架的连续性内细胞增多。免疫组织化学染色显示所有组均存在 I 型和 III 型胶原蛋白，但仅在接种和非接种 ELAC 支架修复中观察到前胶原蛋白 I 和肌腱特异性标志物肌腱调蛋白。这项初步研究的结果证明，ELAC 生物纺织支架在修复临界大小的肩袖肌腱缺损方面值得进一步研究。©2018 威利期刊公司。J 生物医学材料研究部分 B：应用生物材料 107B：1864-1876，2019 年。
