Regeneration of a full-thickness defect of rotator cuff tendon with freshly thawed umbilical cord-derived mesenchymal stem cells in a rat model

Abstract

Background: It is difficult to immediately use mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) for the patient with rotator cuff disease because isolation and culture time are required. Thus, the MSCs would be prepared in advanced in cryopreserved condition for an "off-the-shelf"usage in clinic. This study investigated the efficacy of freshly thawed MSCs on the regeneration of a full-thickness tendon defect (FTD) of rotator cuff tendon in a rat model. Methods: We evaluated morphology, viability, and proliferation of cultured umbilical cord-derived MSCs (C-UC MSCs) and freshly thawed umbilical cord-derived MSCs (T-UC MSCs) at passage 10 in vitro. In animal experiments, we created a FTD in the supraspinatus of rats and injected the injured tendon with saline, cryopreserved agent (CPA; control), C-UC MSCs, and T-UC MSCs, respectively. Two and 4 weeks later, macroscopic, histological, biomechanical, and cell trafficking were evaluated. T test and ANOVA were used with SPSS. Differences with p