This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies. Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: Researchers at Queen Mary University of London are closer to understanding tendinopathy, a common condition that can cause persistent pain and impaired movement in people and many animals. In research published in Advanced Science, scientists identified a population of tendon cells that is particularly sensitive to changes in the physical environment around them, providing new insight into how tendon tissue may respond to changes associated with aging or injury.
Tendons are not made up of one uniform population of cells; instead, they contain different regions with distinct physical environments. The researchers focused on cells within the interfascicular matrix (IFM)—the softer tissue that connects the collagen bundles, or fascicles, that make up a tendon. The team successfully isolated and maintained populations of IFM cells and fascicular matrix (FM) cells, allowing them to compare how the two cell populations respond to changes in mechanical stiffness.
While the former were highly sensitive to their surroundings, the latter remained largely unchanged. When exposed to stiff substrates, the IFM cells changed their internal structure, rapidly altered the expression of genes associated with tendon function and extracellular matrix production, and showed a decline in their ability to proliferate. Importantly, when IFM cells were returned to softer, IFM-like substrates, their morphology and ability to proliferate recovered, while some changes in gene expression were also restored.
"Our findings show that different tendon cells can respond very differently to changes in their mechanical environment. This is important because tendons can undergo changes in their structure and stiffness during disease, and we need to understand how individual cell populations respond to those changes," said Dr. Simon Grossemy, the lead researcher from Queen Mary University of London.
The principal investigator, Professor Hazel Screen, added, "The recovery we observed when IFM cells were returned to a softer environment was particularly interesting. It highlights how the physical environment is an important factor in maintaining the behavior and characteristics of these cells." For people living with tendon conditions, the research provides a new perspective on how tissue changes may affect resident cells, maintaining tissue health or driving disease. Tendinopathy can be difficult to treat, partly because the biological processes underlying tendon degeneration are still not fully understood.
By identifying a highly mechanosensitive cell population, the research gives scientists a new way to investigate how changes in the tendon environment could influence cellular behavior. The findings could also support research into tendon health in animals. Tendon injuries are an important concern in horses, whose tendons experience substantial mechanical forces during movement and athletic activity.
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