Additional Funding Sources
The project described was supported by a student grant from the UI Office of Undergraduate Research.
Presentation Date
7-2021
Abstract
Tendons are an integral part of locomotion. They are responsible for transferring mechanical forces that originate from contracting skeletal muscles. Tendons are collections of hierarchical collagen fibers that can withstand relatively high tensile forces, but they are highly susceptible to damage. Tendon injury is a common occurrence in the general population as well as in athletes. However, a major challenge in these wounds is the poor natural healing ability of tendon and long-term altered function. To ethically try to understand the factors involved in the poor healing of tendons, an in vitro wound model is needed. The aim of this project is to create in vitro models that can help determine the role and impact that TGF-Β1 has on tendon injury sites and the stem cells repairing the wound. Models will focus on two major aspects of TGF-Β1’s effect on wound recovery; the first will model TGF-Β1’s effect on the influx of new actively-differentiating stem cells into tendon cells post injury. The second is observing TGF-Β1’s effect on the wound sites’ surviving tendon cells through a series of scratch assay wound models. These experiments will model the effects TGF-Β1 has on tendon's ability to heal and repair itself with new cells. By developing such models, this project aims to study one of the many factors that regulate tendon injury and cellular response.
Evaluating TGFβ1 and a Scratch Assay Model of Tendon Injury
Tendons are an integral part of locomotion. They are responsible for transferring mechanical forces that originate from contracting skeletal muscles. Tendons are collections of hierarchical collagen fibers that can withstand relatively high tensile forces, but they are highly susceptible to damage. Tendon injury is a common occurrence in the general population as well as in athletes. However, a major challenge in these wounds is the poor natural healing ability of tendon and long-term altered function. To ethically try to understand the factors involved in the poor healing of tendons, an in vitro wound model is needed. The aim of this project is to create in vitro models that can help determine the role and impact that TGF-Β1 has on tendon injury sites and the stem cells repairing the wound. Models will focus on two major aspects of TGF-Β1’s effect on wound recovery; the first will model TGF-Β1’s effect on the influx of new actively-differentiating stem cells into tendon cells post injury. The second is observing TGF-Β1’s effect on the wound sites’ surviving tendon cells through a series of scratch assay wound models. These experiments will model the effects TGF-Β1 has on tendon's ability to heal and repair itself with new cells. By developing such models, this project aims to study one of the many factors that regulate tendon injury and cellular response.