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Rotator cuff repair using a decellularized tendon slices graft: an in vivo study in a rabbit model

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Knee Surgery, Sports Traumatology, Arthroscopy Aims and scope

Abstract

Purpose

Although varieties of surgical repair techniques and materials have been used to repair rotator cuff defects, re-tearing frequently occurs. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the postoperative outcomes of rotator cuff repairs with a decellularized tendon slices (DTSs) graft in a rabbit model.

Methods

Large defects in the infraspinatus tendons were created bilaterally in 21 rabbits. The graft group underwent reconstruction of the defects with the DTSs grafts, while the defect group did not undergo any treatment. The specimens underwent histological observation, biomechanical testing, and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) detection at 4, 8, and 12 weeks after surgery. In addition, 2 rabbits that were not operated on were used for MRI detection as a normal reference.

Results

Histological analysis revealed that the graft promoted host cell ingrowth and tissue integration, and a tendon-like structure developed at 12 weeks. The ultimate tensile load had a significant difference between specimens at 4 and 12 weeks in the graft group, but there was no significant difference between the graft group and the defect group. In the graft group, the stiffness at 12 weeks was significantly greater than that at 4 or 8 weeks, and it was also greater than the stiffness in the defect group at 12 weeks. MRI demonstrated that the signal strength of the regenerative tissue from the graft group at 12 weeks was similar to that of normal infraspinatus tendon.

Conclusion

The DTSs graft allowed for incorporation of host tendon and improved the biomechanical performance of the regenerative tendon. Therefore, the graft could be a promising bioscaffold to enhance the surgical repair of large rotator cuff defects and consequently improve the clinical outcome of rotator cuff tears.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the grants from National High Technology Research and Development Program of China (2012AA020502) and National Natural Science Foundation of China (31370988). We thank Ms. Jiang P. Fan and Jamie M. Kimball for the linguistic assistance during the preparation of this manuscript.

Conflict of interest

We declare that we have no conflict of interest.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, 610041, People’s Republic of China

    Juan Pan

  2. Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, 610041, People’s Republic of China

    Guo-Ming Liu & Fu-Guo Huang

  3. Institute of Stem Cell and Tissue Engineering, State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, 610041, People’s Republic of China

    Liang-Ju Ning, Jing-Cong Luo & Ting-Wu Qin

  4. Regenerative Medicine Research Center, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, 610041, People’s Republic of China

    Yi Zhang

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  1. Juan Pan
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Correspondence to Ting-Wu Qin.

Additional information

Juan Pan and Guo-Ming Liu have contributed equally to this work.

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Pan, J., Liu, GM., Ning, LJ. et al. Rotator cuff repair using a decellularized tendon slices graft: an in vivo study in a rabbit model. Knee Surg Sports Traumatol Arthrosc 23, 1524–1535 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00167-014-2923-7

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