Objective: To investigate the effect of tissue engineered tendon using autologous dermal fibroblasts in repairing tendon damage.
Methods: Skin tissues were resected from abdomen of 5 pigs. Fibroblasts were isolated from the skin pieces and cultured in vitro. Bundles of polyglycolic acid (PGA) were arranged in parallel and mixed with the suspension of fibroblasts to form a cell-scaffolded construct, which was further cultured in vitro for 1 week. The tendon of musculus flexor digitorum superficialis of pig's right leg was cut with a defect 3 cm long and then bridged with the cultured construct. Six weeks later, specimens of the regenerated tendon of right musculus flexor digitorum superficialis and specimens of corresponding left leg were taken for gross examination, microscopy and biomechanical analysis.
Results: After implantation of the fibroblast-biomaterial complex the wounds healed up and the pigs moved well. The histology of the implanted tendon was similar to that of natural tendon. The breaking strength and maximum tensile force were 173.0 +/- 18.2 N and 18.9 +/- 1.9 MPa, reaching 57.4% and 51.9% of those of normal tendon respectively.
Conclusion: Skin fibroblasts can be used as seed cells to regenerate tendon with normal structure and function.