We investigated the influence of cyclooxygenase (COX)-1 and COX-2 siRNAs delivered through a nanoparticle-gel system on the strength of flexor tendon repairs. Sixteen flexor digitorum profundus (FDP) tendons of chicken toes were transected, repaired and wrapped with gels to evaluate gel adherence. We found that the gel adhered to the tendon surface firmly. Next, 56 tendons were used in a first set of in vivo experiments to compare the therapeutic effects of different doses of COX siRNAs. Another 15 tendons were added in a second set to further assess the effects of a dosage of 12 μg. After 4 weeks, the mean strength of the repaired tendons increased most notably in the toes treated with 12 μg COX siRNAs, and the number of samples with low strength (<35 N) was significantly smaller than in the group without molecular treatment. We conclude that COX-1 and COX-2 siRNAs delivered through a nanoparticle-gel system increased the healing strength of the repaired tendons.
Keywords: biomechanics; flexor tendon; nanoparticle-gel system; siRNAs; tendon healing; ultimate strength.