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Updated: Dec 24, 2025

Direct Mouse Trauma/Burn Model of Heterotopic Ossification
Published on: August 6, 2015
Heterotopic ossification of tendon and ligament
Qiang Zhang1,2,3,4, Dong Zhou2, Haitao Wang3,4
1Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Shanghai East Hospital, Tongji University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China.
Abstract:
Much of the similarities of the tissue characteristics, pathologies and mechanisms of heterotopic ossification (HO) formation are shared between HO of tendon and ligament (HOTL). Unmet need and no effective treatment has been developed for HOTL, primarily attributable to poor understanding of cellular and molecular mechanisms. HOTL forms via endochondral ossification, a common process of most kinds of HO. HOTL is a dynamic pathologic process that includes trauma/injury, inflammation, mesenchymal stromal cell (MSC) recruitment, chondrogenic differentiation and, finally, ossification. A variety of signal pathways involve HOTL with multiple roles in different stages of HO formation, and here in this review, we summarize the progress and provide an up-to-date understanding of HOTL.
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