Establishing in vivo and ex vivo chick embryo models to investigate fetal tendon healing

Injured adult tendons heal fibrotically and possess high re-injury rates, whereas fetal tendons appear to heal scarlessly. However, knowledge of fetal tendon wound healing is limited due in part to the need for an accessible animal model. Here, we developed and characterized an in vivo and ex vivo c...

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Published inScientific reports Vol. 13; no. 1; p. 9600
Main Authors Nguyen, Phong K., Hart, Christoph, Hall, Kaitlyn, Holt, Iverson, Kuo, Catherine K.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published London Nature Publishing Group UK 13.06.2023
Nature Publishing Group
Nature Portfolio
Subjects
631/1647/334/1874
639/166/985
Animal models
Animals
Apoptosis
Chick Embryo
Collagen
Embryos
Extracellular matrix
Female
Fetus
Fetuses
Humanities and Social Sciences
Humans
Inflammation
Matrix metalloproteinase
Mechanical properties
multidisciplinary
Phenotypes
Pregnancy
Prenatal Care
Science
Science (multidisciplinary)
Tendon Injuries - therapy
Tendons
Wound Healing
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Summary:Injured adult tendons heal fibrotically and possess high re-injury rates, whereas fetal tendons appear to heal scarlessly. However, knowledge of fetal tendon wound healing is limited due in part to the need for an accessible animal model. Here, we developed and characterized an in vivo and ex vivo chick embryo tendon model to study fetal tendon healing. In both models, injury sites filled rapidly with cells and extracellular matrix during healing, with wound closure occurring faster in vivo. Tendons injured at an earlier embryonic stage improved mechanical properties to levels similar to non-injured controls, whereas tendons injured at a later embryonic stage did not. Expression levels of tendon phenotype markers, collagens, collagen crosslinking regulators, matrix metalloproteinases, and pro-inflammatory mediators exhibited embryonic stage-dependent trends during healing. Apoptosis occurred during healing, but ex vivo tendons exhibited higher levels of apoptosis than tendons in vivo. Future studies will use these in vivo and ex vivo chick embryo tendon injury models to elucidate mechanisms of stage-specific fetal tendon healing to inform the development of therapeutic approaches to regeneratively heal adult tendons.
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ISSN:2045-2322
2045-2322
DOI:10.1038/s41598-023-35408-w