At the Orthopaedic Research Society Annual Meeting in February 2022, Ph.D. student Shuting HUANG, supervised by Prof. Rocky S. TUAN and Prof. Dan WANG, presented her findings on Non-collagenous components of tendon extracellular matrix mediate its pro-tenogenic bioactivity on human adipose-derived stem cells. 

Tendon healing is challenging, in part due to incompetent regenerative capacity. To aid in tendon repair, our lab has developed a urea-based approach for preparing tendon extracellular matrix extracts (tECM), which exert remarkable pro-tenogenic bioactivity on human adipose-derived stem cells (hASCs). Huang’s study demonstrates that (1) tECM is highly bioactive on hASCs, i.e., stimulating proliferation and enhancing tenogenic differentiation; and (2) non-collagenous matrix (NCM) components of tECM are likely important active factors responsible for tECM pro-tenogenic bioactivity. A comprehensive understanding of the functional components in tendon ECM will advance our biological understanding of tendon ECM and pave the way for technological development of a mechanism-driven, ECM-based biomaterial to functionally repair tendon.