Scaffold-induced compression enhances ligamentization potential of decellularized tendon graft reseeded with ACL-derived cells

Jinsung Park; Hyunsoo Soh; Sungsin Jo; Subin Weon; Seung Hoon Lee; Jeong-Ah Park; Myung-Kyu Lee; Tae-Hwan Kim; Il-Hoon Sung; Jin Kyu Lee

doi:10.1016/j.isci.2023.108521

Scaffold-induced compression enhances ligamentization potential of decellularized tendon graft reseeded with ACL-derived cells

iScience. 2023 Nov 23;26(12):108521. doi: 10.1016/j.isci.2023.108521. eCollection 2023 Dec 15.

Authors

Jinsung Park¹, Hyunsoo Soh², Sungsin Jo¹, Subin Weon¹, Seung Hoon Lee¹, Jeong-Ah Park¹, Myung-Kyu Lee³, Tae-Hwan Kim^{1

4}, Il-Hoon Sung², Jin Kyu Lee^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Hanyang University Institute for Rheumatology Research, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
² Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Hanyang University Hospital, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
³ Department of Research and Development, Korea Public Tissue Bank, Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi-do, Korea.
⁴ Department of Rheumatology, Hanyang University Hospital for Rheumatic Disease, Seoul, Republic of Korea.

Abstract

Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction is often performed using a tendon graft. However, the predominant synthesis of fibrotic scar tissue (type III collagen) occurs during the healing process of the tendon graft, resulting in a significantly lower mechanical strength than that of normal ACL tissue. In this study, ACL-derived cells were reseeded to the tendon graft, and scaffold-induced compression was applied to test whether the compressive force results in superior cell survival and integration. Given nanofiber polycaprolactone (PCL) scaffold-induced compression, ACL-derived cells reseeded to a tendon graft demonstrated superior cell survival and integration and resulted in higher gene expression levels of type I collagen compared to non-compressed cell-allograft composites in vitro. Translocation of Yes-associated protein (YAP) into the nucleus was correlated with higher expression of type I collagen in the compression group. These data support the hypothesis of a potential role of mechanotransduction in the ligamentization process.

Keywords: Health sciences; Health technology; Medicine.