Abstract:

OBJECTIVE: To summarize and analyze the research progress of tissue engineered tendon, and further analyze the possibility of tissue engineered tendon as a substitute for tendon repair, as well as future development prospects.
METHODS: Using “tissue engineering, seed cells, tendons, damage repair, scaffold” in Chinese and English as the key words, a computer-based retrieval of PubMed database (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/PubMed) and VIP database (http://www.cqvip.com/) from January 1994 to December 2009 was performed for articles on exercise-induced tendon injury and tissue engineered tendon, excluding Meta analysis or repeated research. A total of 25 articles were included, focusing on the following four aspects for discussion: ① biomechanical research progress of sport tendon engineering; ② classification and screening of tendon tissue engineering seed cells; ③ necessary characteristics of tendon tissue engineering scaffolds; ④ existing problems and research directions of tendon tissue engineering.
RESULTS: At present, the seed cells in tendon tissue engineering include tendon cells, skin fibroblasts and bone marrow stromal stem cells. Uncertain standards for seed cells has restricted the development of tissue engineering, how to get large-scale regenerative seed cells is the most critical issue of tissue engineered tendon studies currently facing. Tissue engineered artificial tendon is supervisor to other traditional methods for repairing tendon defects, mainly in the following advantages: ① the forme d tendon tissue has vitality and function, can reconstruct the morphology and function of the defective tendon, and achieve a permanent replacement; ② repair serious tendon defects after a relatively small amount of tendon cells culture and amplification in vitro; ③ molding defective tendon, to repair shape.
CONCLUSION: The key of tissue engineered tendon in practical clinical application is how to simulate the environment in vivo and to successfully construct tendon tissue in vitro, thus simulating in vivo environment and construction in vitro of tissue engineering is future research direction.