What are the validated animal models for tendinopathy?

Area of Science:

• Orthopedics
• Regenerative Medicine
• Biomedical Engineering

Background:

• Chronic tendinopathy presents as activity-related pain, impacting tendon and insertion sites.
• Animal models are crucial for understanding tendinopathy pathogenesis and management.
• Current animal models have limitations, lacking consensus on universal criteria.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review and discuss criteria for ideal animal models of chronic tendinopathy.
• To establish consensus on essential characteristics for tendinopathy animal models.
• To guide the selection and application of existing animal models for tendinopathy research.

Main Methods:

• Literature review on existing tendinopathy animal models.
• Discussion and consensus building during the International Symposium on Ligaments and Tendons-X.
• Analysis of clinical, histopathological, and functional criteria relevant to human tendinopathy.

Main Results:

• No single animal model universally replicates all aspects of human tendinopathy.
• Established clinical, histopathological, and functional criteria are vital for model relevance.
• Tendinopathy's multifactorial nature suggests specialized models are needed for specific research questions.

Conclusions:

• Animal models should aim to replicate key human tendinopathy characteristics.
• Staging and clearer definitions of tendinopathy types and severity are needed for model development.
• Existing models are valuable for specific inquiries but not for generalizing tendinopathy aspects.