Tenogenic differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells improves healing of linea alba incision

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study is to investigate the curative effects of mesenchymal stem cells' (MSCs') tenogenic differentiation on Linea alba incision healing. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Autologous MSCs were isolated from rat bone marrow and cultured and induced by 10 ng/mL of bone morphogenetic protein-12 (BMP-12) for 48 h. Expression of scleraxis (SCX), collagen I, and collagen III was examined at 48 h, 5 days, and 7 days to investigate the tenogenic differentiation. Fifty Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into five groups: tenogenically differentiated (group E) or native mesenchymal stem cells (group D) seeded onto collagen sponge scaffolds or only sponge scaffolds (group C) were transplanted into the linea alba incision; rats that underwent operation without implantation of anything served as the sham group (group B), and rats that did not undergo operation were used as the control group (group A). Histological analysis was performed to explore the curative effects. RESULTS: The expression of SCX increases continually even in the absence of BMP-12 for 5 days ( P CONCLUSIONS: In animal experiments, MSCs' tenogenic differentiation induced by BMP-12 can dramatically enhance linea alba incision healing.