Biomimetic Wavy-Crimped Porous Structure Enhances Tendon Attachment Reconstruction via Integrin-FAK/Src-MAPK...

Area of Science:

• Biomaterials Engineering
• Tissue Engineering
• Orthopedic Surgery

Background:

• Porous prostheses are used for large bone defects, but often cause fibrotic healing at the tendon interface.
• This fibrotic healing leads to poor tissue organization and insufficient mechanical strength, limiting joint function recovery.
• Native tendons have a wavy-crimped collagen structure that guides cell alignment and promotes healing.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a biomimetic wavy-crimped porous titanium scaffold (BT) to improve tendon-prosthesis integration.
• To investigate the effects of the BT scaffold on cellular behavior and tissue formation at the tendon-implant interface.
• To elucidate the molecular mechanisms underlying enhanced tendon integration facilitated by the BT scaffold.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of a biomimetic wavy-crimped porous titanium scaffold (BT).
• Evaluation of BT scaffold performance in a rabbit patellar tendon attachment reconstruction model.
• In vitro studies using tendon-derived stem cells (TDSCs) to assess cell alignment, tenogenic differentiation, and fibrotic markers.
• Transcriptomic analysis to identify molecular pathways involved in tendon-prosthesis integration.

Main Results:

• BT scaffolds promoted ordered interfacial tissue arrangement and significantly strengthened tendon attachment in vivo.
• In vitro, BT scaffolds guided TDSC alignment, enhanced tenogenic marker expression (COL I, SCX, TNMD), and suppressed fibrotic markers (α-SMA).
• BT scaffolds upregulated antifibrotic factor TGF-β3 and activated the integrin-FAK/Src-MAPK signaling axis, promoting tenogenesis and suppressing fibrogenesis.

Conclusions:

• The biomimetic wavy-crimped BT scaffold effectively overcomes fibrotic healing at the tendon-prosthesis interface.
• BT scaffolds provide a promising strategy to enhance interfacial mechanics for improved tendon-prosthesis reconstruction.
• This approach offers a potential solution for the long-standing challenge of insufficient mechanical stability in tendon repair and reconstruction.