AUTHOR=Kataoka Kensuke , Kurimoto Ryota , Tsutsumi Hiroki , Chiba Tomoki , Kato Tomomi , Shishido Kana , Kato Mariko , Ito Yoshiaki , Cho Yuichiro , Hoshi Osamu , Mimata Ayako , Sakamaki Yuriko , Nakamichi Ryo , Lotz Martin K. , Naruse Keiji , Asahara Hiroshi TITLE=In vitro Neo-Genesis of Tendon/Ligament-Like Tissue by Combination of Mohawk and a Three-Dimensional Cyclic Mechanical Stretch Culture System JOURNAL=Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology VOLUME=8 YEAR=2020 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/cell-and-developmental-biology/articles/10.3389/fcell.2020.00307 DOI=10.3389/fcell.2020.00307 ISSN=2296-634X ABSTRACT=

Tendons and ligaments are pivotal connective tissues that tightly connect muscle and bone. In this study, we developed a novel approach to generate tendon/ligament-like tissues with a hierarchical structure, by introducing the tendon/ligament-specific transcription factor Mohawk (MKX) into the mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) line C3H10T1/2 cells, and by applying an improved three-dimensional (3D) cyclic mechanical stretch culture system. In our developed protocol, a combination of stable Mkx expression and cyclic mechanical stretch synergistically affects the structural tendon/ligament-like tissue generation and tendon related gene expression. In a histological analysis of these tendon/ligament-like tissues, an organized extracellular matrix (ECM), containing collagen type III and elastin, was observed. Moreover, we confirmed that Mkx expression and cyclic mechanical stretch, induced the alignment of structural collagen fibril bundles that were deposited in a fibripositor-like manner during the generation of our tendon/ligament-like tissues. Our findings provide new insights for the tendon/ligament biomaterial fields.