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Copyright ©The Author(s) 2021. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Stem Cells. Jul 26, 2021; 13(7): 753-775
Published online Jul 26, 2021. doi: 10.4252/wjsc.v13.i7.753
Stem cell therapies in tendon-bone healing
Yue Xu, Wan-Xia Zhang, Li-Na Wang, Yue-Qing Ming, Yu-Lin Li, Guo-Xin Ni
Yue Xu, Wan-Xia Zhang, Li-Na Wang, Yue-Qing Ming, Yu-Lin Li, Guo-Xin Ni, School of Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation, Beijing Sport University, Beijing 100084, China
Author contributions: Xu Y wrote the paper; Zhang WX, Wang LN, Ming YQ, and Li YL collected the data; Ni GX made critical revisions related to important intellectual content of the manuscript.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare no conflict of interests for this article.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Guo-Xin Ni, MD, PhD, Chief Doctor, Professor, School of Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation, Beijing Sport University, No. 48 Shangdi Information Road, Haidian District, Beijing 100084, China. fjrehab@163.com
Received: February 7, 2021
Peer-review started: February 7, 2021
First decision: May 5, 2021
Revised: May 8, 2021
Accepted: June 23, 2021
Article in press: June 23, 2021
Published online: July 26, 2021
Processing time: 166 Days and 7 Hours
Abstract

Tendon-bone insertion injuries such as rotator cuff and anterior cruciate ligament injuries are currently highly common and severe. The key method of treating this kind of injury is the reconstruction operation. The success of this reconstructive process depends on the ability of the graft to incorporate into the bone. Recently, there has been substantial discussion about how to enhance the integration of tendon and bone through biological methods. Stem cells like bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), tendon stem/progenitor cells, synovium-derived MSCs, adipose-derived stem cells, or periosteum-derived periosteal stem cells can self-regenerate and potentially differentiate into different cell types, which have been widely used in tissue repair and regeneration. Thus, we concentrate in this review on the current circumstances of tendon-bone healing using stem cell therapy.

Keywords: Tendon; Bone; Stem cell; Anterior cruciate ligament; Rotator cuff

Core Tip: The key to tendon and ligament reconstruction is the strong integration of tendon and bone. Multiple types of stem cells have widely used to improve the tendon-bone healing. There are advantages, disadvantages, and differentiation capabilities for each type of cell. Numerous biological methods have been used, such as gene modification therapy and tissue engineering. However, the mechanism of the stem cells implanted for tendon-to-bone healing is unknown, and further research is necessary. The research on tendon-bone healing using stem cells is reviewed here.